


shining like the stars

by scriveyner (trismegistus)



Series: Voltron Fic Collection [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Actual Plot with Porn, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Developing Relationship, First Time, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mid-season 1 Canon Divergence, Mildly Dubious Consent, Multiple Pairings, Multiple Relationships, Omegaverse, Oral Sex, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 12:21:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 100
Words: 201,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7315069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trismegistus/pseuds/scriveyner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <br/>
  <i>You and I can have it all tonight,</i>
  <br/>
  <i>So let's bring it back to life.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>Now we have another chance to fly,</i>
  <br/>
  <i>Another chance to make it right.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Keith stood under the hot spray of the shower head, his eyes closed as he focused inward and trying desperately to regain some sense of composure. He wasn’t really sure what was wrong with him today; he was the only one out of the entire team moving out of sync in their training exercises, he’d snapped off at Pidge and run himself into one of the invisible maze’s walls so hard that he was _still_ slightly dizzy from it and even now felt like the static jolt still buzzed under his skin. When Shiro had touched his shoulder, eyes concerned, his touch was like a fresh electric current and Keith had yanked himself away.

He realized how quickly he was breathing and turned around under the spray, trying to bring his heart rate under control and even out his panting breaths. He had turned the water on full blast, hot enough to scald but now he was beginning to feel like that was a bad idea, like the blood in his veins was just as hot as the water and if he let it keep going he would burn up, combust right here and now.

The shower stalls themselves were on the small side, and gave the illusion of privacy when the dividers between the boxes only came up to chest height. Keith gripped the top of one of the dividers to maintain his balance, he felt like a fever had come up on him out of nowhere and it _hurt_ , it throbbed in his temples and in his chest and lower, too. He should turn off the water but he was suddenly too dizzy to move again, and all his thoughts ran back to earlier, and Shiro’s hand on his shoulder electric jolt and all, and how comforting that was….

“Keith…? You okay, buddy?”

It too a monumental amount of effort to lift his head and look to the corridor that ran between the two rows of shower stalls. Lance was standing there in his ridiculous, fuzzy blue Altean-cut bathrobe, a towel slung over one shoulder and carrying a little caddy with bottles in it. He was staring unabashedly at Keith, eyebrows high in his hairline. Usually he would have turned red by now, or looked away or something because Keith was clearly naked and that was awkward, but the look he was giving Keith was clearly concerned instead, and that only made him feel worse. If _Lance_ was concerned about him….

“I’m fine,” Keith croaked, because he wanted Lance to go _away_ , he didn’t want to be seen like this. But then his body decided to up and betray him, his legs giving out and Keith slid down the divider to sit on the tile floor, the water from the shower head sluicing down his body. Keith groaned at the weakness in his own limbs, the water too hot, his skin even hotter. Keith closed his eyes and pressed his cheek into the wet, alien-feeling material of the divider, relishing in its cooler temperature despite the heat of the water, and after a moment realized the sensation of water hitting his skin had abated.

When he opened his eyes it was to see Lance in the stall with him, still wearing his robe but now drenched, the shower head dripping slightly but the water shut off. He was staring at Keith, eyes wide and now _obviously_ alarmed. “Do you want me to get Shiro?” Lance asked, and Keith watched the water drip from his soaked robe. He reached out and caught the hem of it, felt the water run down his hand, still warm. Yes, getting Shiro would be nice … he wanted to see Shiro, although he wasn’t quite sure _why_ , and he really didn’t want Shiro to see him like  _this._

Whatever _this_ was.

Lance crouched and put his hand on Keith’s shoulder, clearly about to try to help him to his feet but he hesitated, his hand lingering on Keith’s skin. “Holy _shit_ , you’re burning up.”

‘ _I’m fine_ ’ wasn’t even remotely accurate, but Keith said it anyway. Or at least, he tried to.

Lance didn’t remove his hand from Keith’s shoulder, and Keith’s annoyance at the fact that Lance was touching him was beginning to mount. He leaned in closer to Keith, wide-eyed, and asked in a hush whisper, “are you in _heat?_ ”

Keith scoffed. “Betas don’t go into heat,” he said, and then felt his face flush even redder at admitting his status to Lance. He turned his face away and closed his eyes. “I’m fine, I’ll be fine,” he croaked, even if he didn’t _feel_ fine.

Lance bit his bottom lip. “It’s your first heat,” he said, suddenly understanding and equally surprised. “You hadn’t presented.”

“Why are you such an expert on heats, anyway?” Keith pushed at Lance weakly. “You don’t smell like an alpha to me.” He didn’t. He _did_ smell, though, in a way that Keith hadn’t noticed before now but … god, _this_ was weird.

And he realized with a hard beat of his heart that Lance was _right_ . He was in heat, _that’s_ what this was and the reason that he still felt so wet despite the shower head being turned off was because he was _leaking._ Keith let out a low, aggravated noise but instead it slid off into one higher and needier than he intended. He was really too separated from the moment to be ashamed, but he was certain that his brain would remind him in vivid detail later.

Lance let out a noise almost equally frustrated. “You’ll feel better if you take care of it,” he said. “I mean, it won’t be over right _away_ , but it would help.”

“What do _you_ know-” Keith snarled through gritted teeth.

Lance’s answer overrode the tail end of Keith’s question, although he turned a very vivid shade of red. “I’m an omega too,” Lance’s voice was hushed. “I’ve been through this, it’s rough but you’ll make it through.”

“Oh _hell_ ,” Keith said. He didn’t want to be hearing this. He didn’t want to be _living_ through this, he had been confident that he was a beta; it didn’t carry the same prestige as an alpha but at least it wasn’t an omega. “I’m not…” he trailed off, because he knew, he _knew_ and he hated that he knew it but Lance was telling the truth and for some unknown reason _now_ he was presenting as an omega. “God _dammit_ ,” he hissed, and slapped the wet tile with his hand, weakly.

Lance had never moved his hand from Keith’s shoulder, comforting, soft … but not what he _wanted_. Keith hung his head forward, hair soaked and dripping warm water down his fevered skin as he tried again to bring his panting breaths under control. Why did it have to be _Lance_ here, now? He didn’t want anyone to see him like this, least of all _Lance._

“Do you want me to go get Shiro?” Lance asked again, not having moved. Keith’s muscles seized up at the thought of Shiro here, his hand warm on Keith’s skin, his arm sliding over Keith’s shoulders as he pulled him in close and if Keith wasn’t already flushed red from the heat he would have gone dizzy with all the blood rushing to his face. He stared at the tile, breathing hard, and didn’t raise his face to Lance’s even though the want would be clearly spelled out there. “Shiro is an alpha,” Lance was saying, certain with the knowledge and Keith’s head jerked up and he stared at Lance in surprise. “That can … make things easier.” Lance was as red as Keith felt, but he wasn’t looking away.

“Shiro’s a…” how had he not _known_ this? They were so close, he knew so _much;_ but there was a lot that Shiro didn’t know about him as well so maybe that figured into things. It had always been an assumption, Shiro had never actually _presented_ as long as Keith had known him but alphas were natural leaders and promoted quickly in the Garrison. Keith wrenched himself out from under Lance’s hand, breath burning in his lungs, shaking. So, if Lance was an omega, too, had he… had _they…?_ No, no … he would have known, Lance was the polar opposite of subtle and something would have slipped out by now. “Have you…” Keith choked the words out anyway, he _had_ to know, to be certain. “You and Shiro…?”

“What? No! I’m on suppressants anyway,” Lance said. “I mean, I don’t have a lot left, I wasn’t exactly planning to be away for this long. I can probably spare a couple but they won’t be as effective for you, and you’re not supposed to use them on your first heat anyway.” He was watching Keith critically, and Keith let his head loll against the divider. He felt sick, panicked, everything _hurt_ and he didn’t know what to do about it. Lance sat back on the wet tile in front of him and watched him carefully. Keith couldn’t stand the attention, so he closed his eyes.

He could feel the hesitation in the air. When he opened his eyes Lance was no longer looking at him, instead his gaze had directed toward the shower wall, arms folded and face flushed pink. “It makes things better if you deal with it,” Lance said, and moved a little like he was going to get up. “I’ll stand guard in the changing room if you want, I mean, I wouldn’t want _Pidge_ walking in on this or something…”

For all the way his limbs currently felt like lead weights, Keith’s hand moved quickly and caught Lance’s robe. The movement surprised even Keith, as his emotions had gone sideways on him. “I don’t want to be alone,” Keith said, his heart pounding quickly, everything too muddled except for that single point of clarity. He’d been alone too much. “Please…”

“Are you - are you _kidding_ ,” Lance said too quickly. “I’m not going to, this is something that…” he took a great gulping breath, staring at Keith as he did so, his own breathing coming too fast now too. Keith stared right back, hazy, hard, hurting - and Lance looked away sharply. “You’re going to owe me,” he muttered, addressing the tile. “Big time. Bigger than big time.”

“Lance,” Keith said, his eyes closed. “Shut up.”

_Take care of it_ , Lance had said. Keith shifted, sliding his shoulders against the divider and felt the give of the cool material as he moved. Lance’s attention turned back to him, but Keith was very pointedly Not Looking At Lance because while he’d asked Lance to stay for some ungodly reason that didn’t mean Keith had to maintain eye contact as he worked through this.

He was ridiculously hard now, now that he was paying attention to the lower half of his body, and when he moved he could feel how sticky he was, that he was _leaking_ and it was uncomfortable. He’d never experienced anything like this before; the thought that this had happened to _Lance_ , and that Lance was not only still here but still completely insufferable kept him going.

When Keith finally touched himself, he was so sensitive he actually gasped and jerked his hand away, panting. Lance was still determinedly looking at the wall to avoid staring at Keith jerking himself off in his presence, but his eyes darted to Keith and back again, repeatedly. After Keith gently stroked himself a few times, gingerly, afraid of it being Too Much, Lance let out a low noise of frustration. “You can’t just do the front,” he said, and Keith looked at him, startled. “You’ll get off quicker if you do the back, too.”

Keith said, a little dumbly, “what…?” and Lance groaned again and moved, pushing Keith’s shoulder.

“You have to,” Lance said, the words falling out of his mouth as Keith found himself pushed over, on his knees, one palm against the tile and brow furrowed in dazed confusion. “Don’t you know anything, did you even go to the sex ed classes-” and Keith wasn’t actually listening to the words Lance was saying any longer because Lance’s hand were on his _ass_ now, spreading him apart and Keith let out a low, choked noise of shock as he felt fingers rubbing through the slick dripping from him.

Then they were inside, two of them, and it _hurt_ only it didn’t, and now Keith was making an embarrassing mewling noise, his forehead pressed to his hand braced on the slick tile floor.

He felt Lance freeze, felt the realization dawn that he now had his fingers inside Keith without any discussion about it, and whatever he was saying trailed off as Lance said, uncertainly, “...um.”

Keith couldn’t quite find it in himself to care that Lance was now freaking out, because the pressure of something _inside_ him had woken something. Keith’s hips jerked, his hands curled underneath his head as he groaned low and came without a finger touching his cock, sticky white fluid sliding off the wet tile. Keith panted hoarsely, trembling, but he didn’t feel any relief, he didn’t feel like the edge had come off, not like when he jerked off in the showers sometimes; if anything the blood felt hotter in his veins as he felt Lance move his fingers a little inside.

“Uh,” Lance said, and there was a weird quality to his voice now. “Usually, you finger yourself but-” he was moving his fingers, slow at first and the fluid that emerged was slicking down Keith’s thighs. Lance’s fingers felt _amazing,_ and his legs trembled.

“I don’t feel _better_ ,” Keith said hoarsely, riding on the coattails of an orgasm that usually brought relief. He kept his eyes closed and felt every minute movement of Lance’s fingers inside of him. “Lance, I don’t-”

“I know,” Lance said. “That was just the first one, we gotta wear you out for your hormones to subside long enough  to get you to your bunk without popping a boner at everyone.”

“Oh _god_ ,” Keith moaned as he felt Lance shift behind him, still with his fingers inside. He jerked his entire body forward and almost hit his head against the divider when Lance’s other hand slid around and stroked down his engorged flesh. The feeling of Lance’s hand on his cock was almost _unbearable_ , it was so good.

“C’mon,” Lance said, and if Keith wasn’t verging on too far gone at this point he would have been able to clearly hear the smirk in Lance’s voice. “You gotta tell me when you come, I wanna keep track.”

“F-fuck _off_ ,” Keith managed as his hips jerked back involuntarily, orgasming against just that quickly as Lance stroked him both inside and out. “Oh _fuck_ …”

“Two,” Lance said, voice smug, and outside of a hazy blur of pleasure that was the last thing that Keith remembered.


	2. Chapter 2

Lance stood in front of the door to Keith’s room, holding a tray with a covered dish of leftovers. Hunk had put it together specifically for Keith, so Lance knew at the very bare minimum it was edible if not actually incredibly tasty; and it didn’t smell as bad as what Coran had attempted to feed them for dinner. A month into this madness and Lance still wasn’t quite used to the cuisine.  
  
The list of things he was willing to barter away for a decent cheeseburger was growing worryingly longer by the day.   
  
Keith hadn’t shown his face for dinner. Lance figured that he wouldn’t show, but the others were worried and it was left all up to him to come up with the most devious and convincing lie to throw them off scent. He might not _like_ Keith all that much, but now they had an important bond; more so than being teammates - they were both _omegas._ Lance had a responsibility to show newly-presented Keith the ropes. Yes, a responsibility. He liked that. Preening a little, Lance balanced the tray and banged on the bulkhead door a second time. “Keith, open up.”   
  
“No.”   
  
This time a response, at least. “I brought you food, you ungrateful dick.”   
  
A long silence followed, and then the tone chimed that indicated the door’s lock had been disengaged. Lance rolled his eyes as the door parted, and he stepped through into Keith’s room.   
  
He had been in here a few times before, but most notably just earlier in the day, Keith’s arm slung over his shoulders and Lance grateful to whatever he was supposed to be grateful to for the fact that not a single person intercepted them between the showers and Keith’s room. Keith had been barely there, relaxed and supple, and Lance had tucked him into bed before returning to the showers to take care of himself under the spray of water while very determinedly not thinking about what had just transpired.   
  
Currently, Keith was seated on the bed, the covers puddled about his waist. He was at least partially dressed in one of his black tee shirts and even his stupid gloves, but the shirt was sticking to him a little too much to be comfortable. Lance stood just inside the door for a moment, uncertain where to set down the tray of food and finally deciding that on the bed beside Keith would be best. Keith folded his arms and stared doggedly at the far end of his bunk and didn’t look at Lance.   
  
“I’m not ungrateful,” he said and then, finally, looked at Lance. His face was bright pink.   
  
“Yeah, yeah,” Lance said. “You’re embarrassed, I don’t need a road map.” God, he could smell Keith’s arousal hanging heavy in the air, and he was an _omega_ . No wonder he was so pink, it was a miracle Shiro wasn’t at his door already. “I covered for you at dinner, so now you owe me two.” He held up two fingers illustratively.   
  
Lance took a step back away from the bed now that he had made good on his promise to Hunk and delivered the food. With how he was flushed and the shirt sticking to him with sweat, Lance knew he was back in the throes of his heat and he did _not_ want to stick around. He had a history of being badly affected by other omega’s heat cycles, and the last thing he wanted was an early heat. Being regular was _nice_ , Keith better not ruin it for him.   
  
“Thanks,” Keith said softly, and looked away. “I owe you a lot.”   
  
“What I wouldn’t give for a recording of _that_ ,” Lance said, and waved his hand in the air dismissively. “We’re supposed to be a team, right? We’ve gotta look out for each other.” He put his hands on his hips and surveyed Keith, and then grinned sharply. “I can still go get Shiro, if you want,” he offered slyly.   
  
Keith flushed bright red, faster than Lance thought possible. “Do _not_ tell him,” he hissed, and Lance shrugged.

“He’ll figure it out eventually, if he hasn’t already. Then you two can,” Lance waved his hands in the air illustratively and punctuated the gesture with a lewd grunt and a hip thrust.  
  
“Lance!”   
  
“What, are you telling me you _don’t_ want to bone Shiro?” Lance put his hands back on his hips and raised his eyebrow. “Or be _boned_ by, in this case.”   
  
Keith buried his face in his hands. “I am _not_ talking about this with _you._ ”   
  
Lance shrugged. “Your loss. I’m offering to be your wingman, bro.”   
  
“I don’t need _your_ help!”   
  
Okay, _that_ stung more than Lance wanted to admit. Could Keith’s tone get any more condescending? “It sure as hell seemed like it in the showers earlier,” Lance snarled, his tone going from playful to pissed. Keith slammed both of his hands flat on the mattress and then flung the sheets up, like he was going to get out of bed and come over there and teach Lance a lesson himself - except for the fact that Keith very clearly forgot that he was quite naked from the waist down. Whatever Lance was going to continue on with as an insult died on his lips and he immediately relocated his gaze to the corner of the room.   
  
Keith quickly yanked the sheets over himself again, covering up as he looked away, flushed with anger and embarrassment and more besides. “You didn’t _have_ to,” Keith said finally, stubbornly, but there was a soft edge to his tone that was new.   
  
“No,” Lance said. “I didn’t.” He took a deep breath because he didn’t like this feeling that had settled over him, worse than it had in the showers; and fuck if Keith didn’t smell a little bit _good_ right now with his arousal so thick in the air. “I should go,” Lance said finally. “I won’t tell anyone what’s going on, though, that’s up to you if you wanna tell them or not.”   
  
“I don’t want to be in your debt,” Keith curled his hands in the sheets.   
  
Lance thought about that for a moment. “Well,” he said, hitting upon an idea he liked. He grinned and struck a pose, thumb and forefinger framing his chin. “You can tell everyone how cool and awesome I am and how much you look up to me!” When he opened his eyes, Keith was wearing a look of deep disgust.   
  
“I’m not doing _that_ .”   
  
He shrugged. “Guess you’re just gonna have to owe me, then.”   
  
Keith inhaled, and closed his eyes. Then he moved again, swinging his legs out over the side of the bed and standing up fast enough to rattle the tray of food that Lance had left on the bed. “Dude,” Lance yelped as Keith stomped over to him. “You’re not wearing any _pants_ !”   
  
He was a bit shorter than Lance but just as broad, and there was something definitely intimidating about being advanced on by someone who clearly gave no fucks about being half-naked. Lance backed up until his shoulders hit the wall behind him. “You stink of pheromones,” Lance said, nervous at being this close to Keith again. “Do you even know that?”   
  
“Lance,” Keith said, and slid his fingers into the waistband of Lance’s pants. “Shut up.”   
  
“What the _fuck-_ ” Lance yelped again, higher this time, and grabbed Keith’s hand by the wrist but not before he’d managed to tug open the front of Lance’s pants. “What are you doing!?”   
  
“You know exactly what I’m doing,” Keith said as he pulled Lance’s pants down off his hips. He met Lance’s eye, bright red and brow furrowed in determination, before sinking slowly to his knees, his eye level with Lance’s now very confused dick.   
  
“Fuck,” Lance said, his voice going higher as Keith’s fingers closed around him and stroked once, firmly. A few more strokes and he was well on his way to fully hard; and Lance covered his mouth with one hand, eyes wide and fixed on Keith, stunned.   
  
Keith was concentrated fully on the task ahead of him and not entirely on Lance’s reaction to it, his eyes riveted to Lance’s cock now fully erect and straining in his hands. The flush on his face had darkened, and he was making a little humming noise absently that he probably wasn’t aware of, the fingers of his free hand curled against the exposed skin of Lance’s hip.   
  
Then he looked up at Lance, and while meeting his eye leaned in close; close enough to run his tongue from the root of its base to the head, and swirled his tongue around the head before letting it slip entirely into his mouth. Keith’s eyes fell closed as his cheeks hollowed out.   
  
Lance moaned into the palm of his hand and without even thinking about it dropped his other hand to Keith’s head, his fingers tangling tight into Keith’s dark, messy hair. His brain had flipped over from _what the fuck what the fuck_ to _don’t stop_ in record time. “Keith,” Lance said breathlessly, as Keith shifted around a little and he lost the pressure of Keith’s hand on his hip.   
  
He was jerking himself off, Lance realized dimly, far removed from that thought as Keith pulled off him and tongued along the head again, before taking all of Lance back into his mouth. He was probably leaking all _over_ the floor - the thoughts fell out of Lance’s head as Keith licked at him greedily, and Lance whimpered, leaning forward, his entire body trembling. His hands tightened on Keith’s head.   
  
This was better than he’d imagined, although Lance couldn’t quite say he’d imagined it happening like _this_ . Lance squeezed his eyes closed as he fought the rising heat under his skin, heart hammering in his chest and the scent of Keith’s heat cloying and overwhelming.   
  
“Aren’t you supposed to have a gag reflex?” Lance gasped as Keith swallowed him down again, fast and hard this time, and he wasn’t entirely sure how he got all the words out in an appropriate order because the next string of syllables wasn’t put together quite right, but could be approximated into Keith’s name. “ _Fuck_ ,” Lance managed, finally, and tried his hardest to stave off the orgasm that was building, the tension running down his spine ready to snap. He wasn’t going to make it.   
  
Three things happened, near simultaneously.   
  
Keith let out a low noise around Lance’s cock still jammed halfway down his throat, his hand jerking hard between his hips as he got off, some of the fluid patterning down the inseam of Lance’s pants. It was probably the first of several more orgasms as he skin was flush with the heat and he had to be aching again, but Lance squeezed his eyes closed as he pushed past the edge.   
  
Lance came, hard. Keith wasn’t quite prepared for it and pulled back, Lance’s cock sliding out of his mouth even as he was coming. He closed one eye as Lance proceeded to come on his face, the sticky white fluid falling in stripes over his nose and bangs, and Keith tilted back further in surprise, blinking furiously.   
  
The third thing was the sound of the bulkhead door to Keith’s room opening. Lance hadn’t thought to lock it behind him, and clearly neither had Keith - and they both turned surprised and panicked expressions toward the door, where Hunk stood bearing a covered tray. “Sorry to bug you but Lance said you weren’t feeling well and I made some…” Hunk’s voice trailed off as he registered the two of them. “...dessert…”   
  
It seemed like an eternity of silence as they all just stared at each other. Then, without a word or a twitch of expression Hunk turned on his heel and walked out of the room, letting the door hiss closed behind him.   
  
Another long moment of horrified silence passed.   
  
Lance slammed his head back against the wall as Keith tilted forward on his knees, one hand flat on the floor and the other wiping at Lance’s rapidly-cooling come on his face. “Fuck,” Keith hissed, his face turned down so that Lance couldn’t see his expression. “Fuck, fuck, _fuck._ ”   
  
At the moment, Lance couldn’t agree more.


	3. Chapter 3

“Hunk!” Lance called as he hurried down the corridor behind his best friend and the pilot of the Yellow Lion. “Hunk, c’mon man, wait up!”   
  
Hunk was walking determinedly forward, completely ignoring Lance and heading back toward the Castleship’s kitchens. He was staring straight ahead and almost didn’t stop when Lance darted in front of him, both hands out and braced a little in case Hunk didn’t stop. “Hunk,  _ stop! _ Let me explain!”   
  
He did stop, hands still gripping the dessert tray and staring at Lance. “Explain what?”   
  
Lance, who had closed his eyes and braced for impact, opened them but didn’t drop his hands. “It’s … not what you think?”   
  
“Not what I think,” Hunk’s voice was very calm and it was scary. Lance couldn’t think of the last time he’d heard Hunk’s voice this calm - usually it was the opposite, pitched up frantically. “What is it that I think, Lance?” Hunk looked around suddenly, as if checking to see that they could be overheard before leaning in toward Lance, his eyes narrowed. “Is it that you’re taking advantage of an omega in heat?”   
  
Lance slapped his hand over Hunk’s mouth and said loudly, “SHH I’M NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ANYBODY IF ANYTHING  _ HE’S  _ TAKING ADVANTAGE OF  _ ME-! _ ” Hunk recoiled almost instantly away from Lance and shook his head, balancing the tray expertly in one hand and wiping the back of his other hand over his mouth.   
  
“I don’t even  _ want _ to know where your hands have been!”   
  
“I’m not taking advantage of him!” Lance said again, insistently but not as loud. “How could you think I would  _ do _ something like that!?” He had backed up a step away and was aware of how fast his heart was beating, and how strangely terrified he was of Hunk and his knowledge.   
  
Hunk inhaled and held it for a moment, before letting out a long, slow sigh. “I know you’re not a bad person,” he said, and then thought a second before clarifying himself. “Well, not  _ that _ kind of bad person…”   
  
“ _ Hey!” _ __   
__   
“But, you know, it’s  _ kind of hard _ not to be suspicious when I see a guy that you’ve been complaining about  _ constantly _ and declared your rival on his knees in front of you with a face full of…” Hunk screwed his nose up and closed his eyes as if he was trying to dump his short-term memory files. “Well,  _ you _ .”   
  
“It wasn’t my idea,” Lance huffed, folding his arms. He looked away, unaware of still how flushed he was, stomach roiling. “How did you that he’s … well…” Lance looked around again but it wasn’t like the Castleship was wall to wall with passengers. “You know.”   
  
“An omega?”   
  
“Dude, don’t  _ say _ it.”   
  
Hunk shrugged his shoulders loosely. “The only way that you’re getting a blowjob is from someone in heat who doesn’t know any better.” That said, he stepped around Lance and kept on walking toward the kitchen, leaving Lance standing there with a stunned expression on his face.   
  
“What?  __ Hunk!”   
  


* * *

  
“You have to swear not to tell anyone,” Lance said, two steps behind Hunk as he walked into the kitchen. “Swear it, man!”   
  
“Not tell anyone what?” Allura asked, standing at the counter against the wall and holding a mug in both hands full of a steaming purple liquid. Lance pulled up short and gaped at her for a moment, his brain shooting off the rails at lightning speed and groping for something,  _ anything _ to tell her that wasn’t The Truth.   
  
“Keith and Lance were working on team-building exercises,” Hunk said as he set the dessert tray down.   
  
“Oh!” Allura beamed. “Lance, that’s  _ wonderful _ , will you be sharing those exercises with the rest of us? I know how tumultuous your relationship with Keith can be, I’m glad to hear that you’ve put aside your differences to work together on something.”   
  
Lance not only continued to gape wordlessly for a long, painful moment; he also turned one single, vibrant shade of pink from his forehead to his chin. “They’re, um,” he said, struggling valiantly and failing miserably all in one go. “They’re…”   
  
“...not ready yet?” Hunk helped, a wicked gleam in his eye.   
  
“Not ready yet,” Lance repeated, far too quickly. He glared at Hunk, who gave Lance an over-sweet smile and started putting away the tray.   
  
“How  _ is _ Keith feeling?” Shiro asked from behind Lance, and Lance went absolutely stock-still. For a split second everything was silent and muted, except for the overwhelming, confident presence of Shiro behind him in the doorway. Then, Lance moved faster than he thought possible; getting out of the way and putting Hunk between him and the door as nonchalantly as he could for someone who appeared to have teleported across the room.   
  
“He’s fine,” Lance said, almost tripping over the words and not making any eye contact with Shiro at all. “Or he will be fine, he’s just exhausted and wore himself out you know how he is, hahaha…” The nervous chuckle at the end made Hunk look at him and snort.   
  
“I still think he ought to spend the night in the cryo replenisher,” Allura said, and the mouse who was sitting perched on her shoulder nodded its head in firm agreement. “He would feel much better in the morning, especially if he’s been ill and pushing himself past his limits, which he seems prone to do.”   
  
“That does sound like a fine idea, Princess,” Shiro said. “I’ll go check on him and see if he’s up to it.”   
  
“NO,” Lance said loudly, and ducked his head when everyone looked at him, startled. “Um, no, that’s a bad idea because he had just gone to sleep when Hunk and I left. Right, Hunk?”   
  
Allura and Shiro were both giving Lance a strange look, but Hunk nodded his head after a moment. “It wouldn’t be nice to disturb him,” he said to Shiro. “Let Keith sleep for a while, we can suggest the medical pods if he still feels bad when he gets up.” After a stretched silence, he added, “he looked  _ really _ worn out by the team-building exercises he and Lance were doing.”   
  
_ “HUNK,” _ Lance hissed.   
  
Shiro shrugged and put his hands on his hips. “It’s fine, as long as he’s not actually sick with anything that could go around. The last thing we need is the entirety of Team Voltron being laid low with the space flu.”   
  
“...is that actually a thing?” Lance said. “Space flu.”   
  
Allura frowned thoughtfully. “I’ve never heard of a ‘Space flu’ sickness before. Of course there are a whole host of illnesses your could bring back from any of the planets and cultures we visit, but the Paladin suits especially have a built-in filtration system that helps cleanse the atmosphere you breathe and works almost as a secondary immune system. Otherwise, non-native pilots would be getting sick near-constantly.”   
  
“Makes sense,” Hunk said. “All this alien tech is so weird, but it’s also really kinda cool.”   
  
Lance nodded his head in agreement, but he was also aware that Shiro had continued to stare at him with a very perplexed expression. He had fully entered the kitchen by now but he hesitated, his attention divided between Allura’s words and Lance himself; and that was making Lance uncomfortable. “I’m gonna go,” he said, but Shiro blocked his path, walking toward him with a purpose and that uncomfortable feeling unspooled in his belly, shifting rapidly into something else entirely.   
  
He had been standing back against the counter beside Hunk and had nowhere to go. “Shiro?” Lance said, but Shiro didn’t seem to hear him, his brow drawn together in concentration. Lance realized in a panicked moment as Shiro stepped into his personal space that Shiro was  _ scenting. _   
  
_ Shit. _   
  
He couldn’t make himself move. All his muscles locked up as Shiro put his hands on Lance’s shoulders, one hand distinctively heavier and cooler. He lowered his head and inhaled deeply in the space where the fabric of Lance’s clothes sat bunched, between his shoulder and neck. “Shiro!” Allura said from far away, shocked.   
  
Lance’s heart was going approximately a million miles an hour, his entire body ramrod straight and arms pinned to his sides, trembling. “You smell like Keith,” Shiro murmured, his voice gone an octave lower and huskier. Lance’s brain  _ finally _ overrode everything else in flat-out emergency mode and he planted both his hands on Shiro’s chest and shoved him away.   
  
Shiro took a step back, his eyes wide and surprised as he seemed to come back to himself, blushing slightly. “Why did I - Lance, I’m  _ sorry _ , that was inappropriate-”   
  
Lance was still standing with his arms extended, staring at Shiro with a terrified expression on his face. “I have to go,” he managed to get out before he bolted from the room.   
  


* * *

  
In the safety of his own quarters, Lance slammed his palm on the wall control that closed the door behind him and locked it. He was panting, more winded than a run down the winding halls of the Castleship ought to leave him, and Lance braced himself back against the door, trying hard to catch his breath. With a surprised noise Lance realized that his legs weren’t going to hold him for much longer, and sank to the floor, back still to the room’s door.   
  
He could still feel the brush of hot breath along the side of his neck, but the voice in his head wasn’t Shiro’s. Lance folded his arms over his head and curled forward, trying to keep it out, the voice that said softly,  _ you’re an omega, you’ll enjoy it, private… _   
  
Focus on your breathing. One breath in, one breath out.   
  
Lance jumped when he heard someone bang on the door, heart in his throat. “Lance, are you all right?” Hunk’s voice. The relief is palpable.   
  
“I’m fine,” Lance said, lowering his arms but not moving from where he sat, his back to the door. “Is Shiro out there with you?”   
  
“No. I think he’s still trying to explain what just happened to Allura.” Hunk’s voice lowered just a bit, conspiratorially, but still enough to be heard through the bulkhead door. “Are you sure you’re okay?”   
  
“Yeah,” Lance said, because if he wasn’t, Hunk would never go away. After a long moment of silence, he spoke again. “Hunk?”   
  
“I’m still out here, man.”   
  
“Can you keep Shiro away from Keith? It’s … it’s his first heat.”   
  
Another long moment, and Lance felt the weight of it between them. Finally, he heard Hunk smack an open palm against the door. “Of course I will. Shit, what a bad time to present.”   
  
“Yeah. Sucks to be him.” Lance closed his eyes and exhaled.   
  
“You know, I didn’t  _ really _ think you were taking advantage of him.”   
  
“I know.”   
  
Hunk asked, quietly, “will you open the door?”   
  
Lance shook his head and didn’t realize right away that Hunk couldn’t see it. “I’m fine,” he said. “Really. Will you go check on Keith though? He really needs to eat something, he hadn’t touched the dinner tray when I left.”   
  
“Yeah, sure thing. You know you can come talk to me if you need to, too.” Lance heard Hunk smack the outside of his door one more time, a parting noise, and after a moment there was no other noise from the hallway.   
  
Lance tilted his head back against the door and closed his eyes, and then took a long, deep breath. He could still feel those fingers, than breath, that scent; trapped against the wall of lockers in the changing room and terrified….   
  
And then Hunk, ripping an upperclassmen off of him, slamming him back into the bench so he tripped and sprawled back…   
  
Lance groaned and shuddered. He was going to make  _ certain _ that Keith made it through his first heat safely. No matter  _ what. _


	4. Chapter 4

There was no true ‘day’ or ‘night’ in space. The Castleship ran on the equivalent of a twenty-two hour cycle since Altean days were slightly shorter than a full rotation of the Earth. This was only a tiny bit jarring for the crew, and led to far too many, far too early wake-up calls for everyone’s liking. The only one who seemed unaffected by the time shift was Shiro, and Keith suspected that was because Shiro was barely sleeping as it was. Eventually, though, Pidge and Hunk got into the ship’s internal systems and did _something_ to the chronometer that got everyone more-or-less synchronized … although the days were _still_ short.   
  
Keith didn’t have a phone, so he’d commandeered one of the Altean datapads in its stead. He used it mostly to help control the shipboard systems he had access too … as well as a clock, because it was _really_ inconvenient to not have some form of chrono or another. Fortunately the Altean datapads weren’t all that much larger than Lance’s oh-so-obnoxious phone, so it was easy enough to keep on him as he roamed the halls of the Castleship, restless in the worst way.   
  
He had slunk off to the showers after Lance left, bolting after Hunk once he’d made certain Keith was all right to be left alone. He hadn’t lingered long - which was a _really_ good thing, because Keith had spent far too much hot water trying to bring himself down off the high he’d gotten sucking Lance’s goddamned cock, fucking _hell._ Lance was an omega, as he’d said too many times in the last ship cycle; he wasn’t supposed to be doing _anything_ for Keith, let alone be stuck in his head like a splinter lodged under his skin. Keith rubbed a hand over his face and tried to pretend for a moment that he’d successfully dismissed the flush that seemed to permanently paint his face. How much longer was this heat nonsense going to _last?_   
  
He could _ask_ Lance, the reasonable portion of his brain offered up in a tone that could only be described as _sly._ He could go knock on Lance’s door in the middle of the night and certainly _nothing_ else would come of it. Nothing at all, just a perfectly innocent rendezvous where he made sure that Lance convinced Hunk to not blab to the … four remaining people on this ship that didn’t know that Keith was in heat. He groaned and made a concentrated effort to not rub his hand over the front of his already too-tight pants, because despite the war between logic and need he was waging, the thought of seeing Lance right now was _really_ nice.   
  
The pants were really distracting, if he was being honest. It was the first time he’d put some on since this afternoon, in the showers … and he was already itching to rip them off again. He only had to wear them long enough to take his used dishes to the kitchen and maybe grab something to drink, praying the entire time that stretching his legs and getting out of his room would dismiss the crawling feeling under his skin of wanting to be touched again.   
  
It was very quiet in the ship at ‘night.’ Keith’s footsteps seemed to echo more, the constant hum of a ship in motion all around him more muted that during the day. He hesitated a moment at the end of the corridor that bisected the pilot’s quarters and realized he was lingering in front of Shiro’s room. Like … he was supposed to be there. Keith swallowed hard and thought about how easy it would be to knock on the door, slide into the room, climb on top of Shiro, and….   
  
The crawling feeling got worse, and Keith rubbed his arms and shivered as he hurried away toward the common area, food tray and plates tucked tight against his side. He was _not_ thinking about that. This entire thing was just the heat talking, a human, biological imperative that was something he _knew_ he was stronger than.   
  
_A biological imperative._   
  
Something about that turn of phrase bothered him, the worse spoken too fast, rushed together. It rattled around in his head as he put the tray on the counter in the kitchen area and dumped the dishes in the empty sink area for the mice, or Coran and Hunk to find in the morning. He was too distracted to feel guilty about leaving his mess, something tingling at the edge of his perception and Keith rubbed his hand over his nose and scowled.   
  
He could _smell_ … something.   
  
It wasn’t the food, and it wasn’t the strange, musky aroma he’d gotten used to permeating his room … it was something familiar and warm and intimate, in a good way. When he lifted his palm from his nose Keith realized he recognized the scent with a little start, it was _Shiro._ He could smell that Shiro had been in here earlier in the day, that he had been awash with a strong, potent emotion … and that there was another scent twined around it, something faintly less familiar but softer, and calming. He couldn’t deal with the way that the scents pricked along his shoulders and down his back, and _fuck_ he was not going to get hard before he got back to his room, this entire omega thing was goddamned _bullshit._   
  
Instead of going to his room though, Keith stormed in the opposite direction, toward the training deck. He wondered if activating it at the equivalent of one in the morning would wake anyone but the Castleship was large and really, he didn't even care if it did. There were plenty of other ways to work out the frustration in his veins, and an entire Castleship worth of combat-ready gladiator bots to keep him busy.   
  
To his surprise though when the door to the training deck parted all the lights were on and the room was already active. Keith hesitated in the doorway but then continued through, stepping into the large, open area that served as a combat ring when no other training protocols were engaged.   
  
The scent hit him before he even registered what he was looking at. Sweat and musk and more besides, it took his blood from hot to boiling in a heartbeat. It was Shiro using the training deck, of _course_ it was; in the middle of some of the combat drones and working out his frustration in the same way that Keith had been planning to. Sweat was dripping from his hair and down his neck, he had clearly been at this for a while - and he looked tired, and almost overwhelmed by the number of them.   
  
Keith didn’t think twice. He always kept his bayard with him, even on the ship; and without even a moment of hesitation he jumped into the fray, the Red Lion’s bayard shifting into its familiar form as his sword in a twinkling. The arc of his swing caught the blade in the shoulder of one of the gladiator bots and didn’t stop there, continuing down through its torso until the drone was nearly bisected. Shiro glanced back at Keith at met his eyes and they nodded at the same time, squaring off, each facing half the gladiator bots that had been circling Shiro alone.   
  
Now _this_ made Keith feel like himself again. Adrenaline pumping, he slashed and parried and fought back the gladiator bots one and two at a time. He had no idea what level Shiro had set it at and how many the digital system would keep producing, but he didn’t bother to stop and keep count. As soon as he felled one it dropped into the floor and out sight, and another would rise to take its place.   
  
The regimen didn’t last as long as he had hoped, though; as Shiro slammed his Galra hand through a drone’s chest cavity and took it down. The last of the gladiator bots vanished into the floor at Shiro’s feet and Keith stood there, chest heaving and watched Shiro’s back.   
  
Keith deactivated his bayard, felt the balance shift minutely into its sheathed form. “I didn’t think anyone else would be up,” he said, breathless in the best way, feeling his shirt sticking to him with the quick sweat he had worked up. Shiro turned and looked at him, his own chest heaving and Keith couldn’t describe the change in atmosphere of the room. Shiro’s face was _weird_ \- like he couldn’t quite figure something out, and it was setting off alarm bells that Keith was doing his level best to ignore.   
  
“Keith,” Shiro said, and dragged the back of his flesh hand over his mouth, still staring at Keith in that uncomfortable way. His eyes didn’t look right, and Keith swallowed.   
  
Deliberately, Shiro turned fully toward him and Keith realized that if he was going to leave he needed to leave _now_ , but for some reason he couldn’t will his muscles to cooperate. In fact, it seemed like there was a major disconnect between his brain and his body at the moment, as Shiro stood far too close, the fingers on his right hand touching Keith’s jaw softly, tilting his head up to look into Shiro’s face properly.   
  
Then Shiro was kissing him and that blew the last of Keith’s circuits. He dropped his bayard and wrapped his arms over Shiro’s shoulders, which was a _good_ thing because his legs decided to give out and they both went to floor. Somehow, miraculously, Keith didn’t hit his head on the way down but maybe that was because Shiro cradled it in his real hand - and they didn’t stop kissing at any point during his descent.   
  
There was no discussion, there didn’t need to be. Keith groaned into Shiro’s mouth, pinned to the floor by his weigh. He arched his back and hooked one leg over Shiro’s, the arousal in his belly flaring hot.   
  
He was harder than he’d been even earlier, both the front and back of his pants growing damp with his excitement. Keith scrabbled between them blindly, hand slipping down between their bodies and intent on removing the barriers between them before Shiro caught his hand and pinned it to the floor instead. Keith groaned and struggled underneath Shiro as Shiro nuzzled along his jaw and kissed up toward his hairline. “ _Shiro_ ,” Keith gasped, and curled the fingers of his free hand into the skin-tight black shirt Shiro wore.   
  
They were going to have sex on the floor in the training deck. Common sense screamed by like a starfight; Keith barely paid it any mind, his body aching with the need for Shiro’s touch. It was the middle of the night, there would be no interruptions here.   
  
Shiro but his hand on the floor beside Keith’s head and locked his elbow, pushing his body up just a bit. They stared at each other, wide-eyed and panting, Shiro’s face flushed dark and undoubtedly matching Keith’s own. He released Keith’s hand and Keith hooked it into Shiro’s shirt too, both hand hands gripping the fabric tight, keeping him down. “Are you gonna fuck me?” Keith asked, breathless, shameless … and that question seemed to trigger something as Shiro’s eyes widened farther.   
  
“Keith,” Shiro said, breathless. “I…”   
  
“Fuck me,” Keith pleaded, head flopped back to the floor, legs entwined with Shiro’s. “I need it, Shiro, I need _you-_ ”   
  
Shiro shook his head slowly once, and then again with conviction. “Not like this,” he said heavily, voice tinged with regret. “Not here.”   
  
Keith let out a low growl of frustration and yanked. Shiro was off-balance and he fell down again Keith, who tucked his face again Shiro’s neck and _bit._ Shiro gave a startled, pained noise and rolled off Keith, one hand clamped to the side of his neck as Keith shamelessly pressed the flat of his hand over the large and apparent bulge in his pants.   
  
“You’re in heat,” Shiro said, on his knees and staring at Keith, wide-eyed.   
  
“No shit,” Keith snarled, curled up slightly and rubbing his hand furiously over his trapped cock. He let out a shocked yelp as Shiro’s hand slammed his shoulder back into the floor, and Shiro’s face was too close and not close enough all at once, brows drawn together in scrutiny.   
  
“Is that why Lance smelled like you?”   
  
Keith panted and avoided looking directly into Shiro’s face. “Does it matter?”   
  
“ _I_ _s that why Lance smelled like you?”_   
  
“Lance is an omega too, he can’t do anything for me,” Keith said. “Not like you can.”   
  
They stared at each other, chests heaving, the scent in the air heavy and oppressive. It was Shiro who broke the gaze first. Again. “Go back to your room,” he said finally, and Keith groaned, disappointed.   
  
“ _Why_ won’t you-”   
  
“That’s an _order!_ ”  
  
Shiro’s barked voice made Keith freeze in place, the authoritative tone overriding the remainder of his objection. After a moment, Keith snarled loud and rolled to his feet, scooped up his bayard and bolted out the door without looking back. He left Shiro sitting in the middle of the floor, elbow on his knee and hand in his hair as he desperately tried to calm himself down.   
  
What in the hell was going on on this ship?


	5. Chapter 5

Lance was barely awake, dressed only in his pajamas as he stood at the door to his room. He rubbed one eye and yawned as the door hissed open, not even in the slightest bit thrilled at being awakened in this manner. “Yeah, what it it?” he grumbled. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”  
  
Keith staggered through as soon as the bulkhead doors parted, pitching forward and directly into Lance - who was not only _not_ awake enough to command reflexes, but was in fact holding his pillow under one arm and completely unprepared to be catching anybody. Lance went down under Keith with a startled yelp. “What _the-_ ” Lance’s voice went up and back down as Keith pressed his forehead into Lance’s chest, hands holding tight to the baggy tunic shirt that served as his pajama top. “... _Keith?”_   
  
Keith was breathing raggedly, great gulping breaths that reminded Lance immediately of his reaction in the showers; Keith unable to control himself or calm down. “Whoa, whoa,” Lance said, and realized that Keith weighed more than he thought when he couldn’t easily shift him. “Keith, buddy…”   
  
He was trembling and soaked through with sweat. “I hate this,” Keith said, his forehead to Lance’s shoulder. “I fucking _hate_ this.”   
  
“Yeah,” Lance said, and awkwardly patted Keith’s back. “I know.”   
  
“I don’t _like_ not being in control, I can’t stand it!” Keith raised his head finally and Lance was thankful that he didn’t seem to be crying at least, because _that_ was something he had absolutely no toolkit for dealing with.   
  
Keith stared up at Lance, and Lance could feel his heartbeat, rapid and uneven, just like his breaths. Lance inhaled and said, “you’re really kind of heavy, you know that? Hunk overfeeding you on the goo? How much do you even _weigh_ , anyway, I mean Hunk’s sat on me before and even _then-_ ”   
  
“Fuck you,” Keith snapped and looked away. His face was still red, even by the dim light of Lance’s quarters, but the questions had served as intended and derailed Keith’s train of thought.   
  
“You wish,” Lance said, and pushed at Keith. “Would you get _off_ me? I wasn’t kidding, you weigh a _ton._ ”   
  
Keith put his hands on the floor and stared down at Lance, and Lance felt the heat on his cheeks as well, he couldn’t help but flush at such intense scrutiny. “What are you staring at?” Lance demanded, and Keith shook his head once and then closed his eyes.   
  
Unexpectedly, he laughed.   
  
Lance narrowed his eyes. “Are you laughing at me?”   
  
Keith shook his head but continued to chuckle, his laugh less harsh and more exhausted-sounding.   
  
“You _are_ . Stop laughing at me!”   
  
Keith pushed himself up on his knees and dragged his hand over his eyes, the chuckles dying off into quietude. Then he sighed deeply and smiled down at Lance, who was more than a little twigged out by the soft, amused expression on Keith’s face. “Thanks, Lance,” Keith said, before dragging himself to his feet. Lance sat upright, and Keith stumbled past him.   
  
“Hey, wait a sec,” Lance said said as Keith flopped face-first into the bunk. “That’s _my_ bed!”   
  
Keith only moved enough to kick off his boots and draw his feet up onto the bed. “If you don’t like it there’s a bed in my room,” Keith said, his back to Lance.   
  
“Are you _kidding_ me? I’m not going to go sleep in your bed, your sheets are full of spunk - get your sweaty ass out of my nice clean sheets!” Lance flung himself to his feet, pillow forgotten on the floor behind him. “I will _make_ you move,” he threatened.   
  
Without even looking behind him, Keith reached out and grabbed Lance by the front of his pajamas. Lance let out an undignified squawk as he found himself yanked down into his bed. “Room enough for both of us,” Keith said, as Lance landed half on the mattress and half on Keith. “Shut up and go to sleep, Lance.”   
  
“Sweaty, stinking bed invaders going to dirty my sheets,” Lance muttered as he settled down beside Keith. “This is going in the ‘owe me’ column, I hope you know.”   
  
“Shut up.”   


* * *

  
When Lance woke it was because a warm body had shifted against his, and that was a foreign enough sensation that his body sent all alerts to his brain to man battlestations, there was an intruder. Fortunately that response required much more alertness than Lance had, and when he squinted open his eyes to the dimness of his quarters his first thought was that _fuck_ , he was comfortable.   
  
Keith had, at some unknown point in the night, rolled over and draped his arm over Lance’s side, pulling him close. He was a little _too_ warm - still caught in the throes of his first heat, Lance thought sleepily - and despite being a sweat-soaked mess he was even starting to smell good. Lance yawned and snuggled back down into his pillow. He could deal with this, Keith was much easier to handle when he wasn’t opening his mouth.   
  
Just as the thought had passed Lance’s mind, Keith made a small, needy noise into the back of Lance’s neck and murmured Shiro’s name. Lance’s eyes snapped open again, but before he could even think about moving Keith’s hand pulled him back, pressing Lance’s hips back to Keith’s. Lance froze as he felt Keith’s body grind slowly against his.   
  
You have _got_ to be _kidding._   
  
Lance started looking for something large and squishy to jam his elbow into, like a kidney or something, but Keith wasn’t exactly _Hunk_ in regards to being squishy. But hell, Lance wasn’t going to lay here and get sleep-humped by an omega having a wet dream in _his_ bed and _his_ no-longer-clean-anyway sheets, no sir. How could this get any worse?   
  
As soon as the thought crossed Lance’s _mind_ he heard someone outside his door. “Hey, Lance? You up yet? I can’t find Keith, he’s not in his room.”   
  
Lance groaned softly and elbowed Keith in a non-squishy location, which felt like his chest. _“Stop it,_ ” he hissed, as Keith buried his face a little lower, pressing it to Lance’s shoulder. His hips were moving faster, rubbing the very apparent bulge in his pants into Lance’s ass, and Lance blushed hard. He wasn’t about to admit that it felt _good,_ dammit.   
  
Hunk smacked his hand into the door again. “Lance, I swear if you’re wearing headphones again…”   
  
Pidge’s voice was more matter-of-fact. “If he’s wearing _my_ headphones that he stole from _my_ backpack, he wouldn’t hear you anyway. They’re noise-canceling.”   
  
_Yes, I am wearing headphones,_ Lance thought at the door, trying somehow to tune into Hunk’s thought process. _Noise-dampening headphones. Go away._ Keith wrapped both of his arms around Lance’s chest, keeping him down in the bed.   
  
There was silence for a long moment, long enough for Lance to hope that Hunk had gotten one of the eleven different psychic messages Lance was trying to send him to scram because he had enough problems in his life. But, of course things could _not_ go his way, not even in the slightest because after another moment his definitely-locked bulkhead door slid open and the automatically-dimmed lights came back up to full daylight hours brightness.   
  
Pidge stood in the doorway with a datapad in one hand with a wire that was clearly plugged into the wall out of sight, but she was mostly overshadowed by Hunk. “There’s no point to locks if you just _ignore_ them,” Hunk was saying pointedly, and Pidge shrugged.   
  
“Good morning,” she said cheerfully when she saw Lance flail into a seated position, his arms pinwheeling frantically. “Figured you had my headphones on, so… any idea where Keith got to? The Red Lion’s still here so he’s gotta be squirreled away on this ship somewhere, Allura’s looking for him.”   
  
Lance opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to vocalize.   
  
Keith sat up beside him with a groan, rubbing his hand over his eyes and blinking away sleep. “Is it morning _already?_ ”   
  
If Lance hadn’t been so mortified by the entire situation, the reaction from Hunk would have been absolutely worth it. As it was, Pidge had a moment of confusion; “Keith?” she said, surprised. Hunk’s face managed to go through an entire spectrum of emotion in less than two seconds.   
  
Then he picked up Pidge and walked away.   
  
“Are you _kidding_ me,” Lance half-yelled, half-moaned. Keith looked around blearily as Lance stumbled out of bed, tripping over Keith’s boots and wiping out on the floor. “ _Hunk!_ ”   
  
Keith watched Lance scramble to his feet, still holding one of the boots that had caused his tumble. Without another look behind him Lance lunged out the still-open bulkhead door in pursuit. “Everybody’s so _loud_ ,” Keith muttered, before flopping back over onto his side and pulling the cover up over his head.   


* * *

  
Shiro just happened to be leaving his own quarters when Hunk went running by, holding Pidge above his head with both hands and yelling as they went. “I won’t let you corrupt Pidge, too!”   
  
Right on his heels, barefoot and in his pajamas came Lance. He was waving one of Keith’s boots like a club. “I _told_ you, you’ve got the wrong idea! It’s not what you think!”   
  
Their yelling continued, diminishing as they disappeared down a fork in the corridor and heading out of sight.   
  
Shiro sighed deeply and headed for the kitchens. Maybe if he was lucky today would be the day he would discover coffee (or some Altean equivalent) in the larder, because, honestly? He _really_ fucking needed coffee.


	6. Chapter 6

When Keith walked onto the bridge of the castle-ship, he fully expected an ambush. However, while everyone was dressed and on deck for the most part they were standing around the main display panel and looking up at the now-increasingly-familiar alien runes. "What's going on?" Keith asked as he stopped an arm's length away from Shiro and conscious of every inch of the distance between them.

"Not quite sure yet," Shiro said, his arms folded and eyes on the screen.

"We've detected an emergency beacon," Allura was standing at the center console. She had one hand on the keypad, and her expression was at the same time distant, and concerned. "It's coming from this region, but this star system is mostly abandoned." The forward display was active, showing a mostly empty star field and the curve of a brownish red planet with a slight shimmer of atmosphere.

Lance shrugged his shoulders. "You're the one who said we can't not help people in need, Princess, we should check it out."

"It's not quite that simple, I'm afraid," Coran said, standing at the main controls behind them. "The emergency beacon is very, very old, and it's broadcasting on a distorted frequency. We can't pinpoint its exact location on the surface."

"It also could be a trap," Hunk said. "Another one. Because you know what sort of luck we have with these things." He jabbed his finger at the viewscreen. "You even said that there were traces of Galra in this system, doesn't anyone else find that a little bit suspicious?"

"Traces of Galra," Keith said, eyebrow raised. "What do you mean by that?"

"There's a decimated frigate in orbit above the planet," Pidge said. She was the only one not staring either out the viewscreen or at the display, seated in the navigator's chair and typing quickly. "It's old, too. Doesn't look like any of the ones we've seen so far." Keith walked over to her chair and put one hand on the back, leaning forward as Pidge brought up a slightly-blurry shot taken by the castle-ship's external cameras. The ship did indeed look nothing like the battle cruisers they had seen so far -- it had been destroyed by a powerful shot through the forward hull, and the hulk hung dark and motionless, caught in an eternal silent orbit by the planet's gravity.

Pidge pointed at the dark blur around the hole. "The debris field is huge, but it looks like most of it is still there. I want to check it out, although I don't know if there's anything worth salvaging."

"Every time we get close to Galra wreckage it seems like they turn up," Lance said. "We should leave the wreck alone."

"I agree with Lance," Hunk said, and nodded his head.

"But we should totally go planet-side, see what that emergency beacon is about," he continued. "There might not be anything left, but you never know. We can't just ignore it."

"I no longer agree with Lance," Hunk said.

"Lance is right," Allura said, and Lance preened a little. Keith rolled his eyes. "Coran, do you think you can narrow down the location of broadcast?"

"It will be difficult," Coran said, and gestured to the screen. The forward view was replaced by a rough schematic of the planet below. "The planet itself seems to be what is causing the electromagnetic distortion. It could take weeks to pinpoint its origin."

"We certainly don't have weeks," Shiro said. "We'll have to scan from the surface, then." He glanced around the bridge at everyone, and his gaze lingered on Keith's for what felt like an eternity. "All right, everybody, suit up."

"Keith," Allura said, as everyone filed out. "A word, if I could?"

Keith hesitated a moment, and Lance passed him. "Busted," Lance said in a singsong voice, and Keith managed to jab an elbow into his side before he could get out of range, which provoked a squeak of pain. "Yes, Princess?" Keith said, as the doors to the bridge whispered closed behind Shiro, the last one out.

Allura turned around completely and looked at him. She still wore a concerned expression on her face, and Keith folded his arms and waited. "Are you certain you're okay to fly?" she asked finally. "This isn't necessarily a combat mission, and if you wished to remain onboard..."

"I'm _fine_ ," Keith said hotly. "There's nothing wrong."

Allura raised an eyebrow at this, and glanced past Keith to Coran, who still stood at the console. He coughed into his hand discretely, and Allura looked back at Keith. "As a paladin we don't discourage getting to know your teammates," Coran said. "Not even intimately, as it can mean a stronger, noble bond between partners-"

"Oh my god," Keith said.

"What Coran is trying to say," Allura said and sent a pointed look at Coran, "Is that we understand that it is a delicate time for you. Shiro explained a little about Earthling's reproductive cycles earlier."

This was officially worse than an ambush, and the only saving grace was that the rest of the team was not here to witness this. "There's nothing _delicate_ going on," Keith said, aware that he was flushed pink. "I don't know what he told you, but I'm perfectly capable of flying the red lion right now!"

Allura nodded her head, hands clasped before her. "I am certain you are, but I just wanted to let you know that we are here for you if you need us."

Having run an entire gamut of emotion in approximately two minutes Keith was just left with resignation. "Is that all, Princess? I need to go."

"Please be careful," Allura said as Keith turned and marched toward the door himself.

"If you need to have your room assignment updated," Coran started to tell him, but the elevator doors thankfully cut him off. Keith stood in the center of the lift as it started its descent toward the ready room, then he ran both of his hands back into his hair and fought the urge to yell his frustration out.

Fuck, he really needed to punch someone. Where was Lance when he needed him?

+

"We've narrowed down the location of the broadcast to the largest continent in the upper hemisphere," Allura's voice said through the communications channel. "I don't think we're going to manage anything smaller than that."

Lance leaned forward in his seat and turned his head as far as he could in one direction. "How do we know which hemisphere is the upper one?"

"The _northern_ hemisphere," Keith's voice was extra snippy.

"We're in space. There's no magnetic north in space."

"Even you can't be _that_ dumb, we're about to enter the atmosphere!" The remainder of whatever it was Keith was saying was overridden by Shiro's voice, firm and loud.

"Keith, Lance! Stow it!"

"I'm beaming the transmission frequency to everyone's lions," Pidge said, and Lance looked down at the display in front of him; although he really couldn't understand any of what crossed the screen as the lions shared information. "If we split up we can canvass the continent pretty quickly. If the scanners pick up the frequency, it'll light up your board."

"Thank you, Pidge," Shiro said. "Everyone got that?"

A chorus of affirmatives echoed through the line. "Keep your communications channel open and clear," Shiro said. "I'm dispatching coordinates for everyone to start their sweeps."

The nice thing about piloting semi-sentient alien tech meant that Lance didn't have to interpret the alien coordinates himself; the blue lion immediately turned in the right direction and began flying toward magnetic north. He exhaled and kept his hands on the controls, watching the scenery fly past at record speed.

The planet itself looked, frankly, inhospitable. The ground below was barely more than desert, rolling dunes of brownish-red sand and mountains in the distance. Occasionally he'd spot groupings of some kind of foliage, it was as dingy as the rest of the landscape. "Not getting any readings on lifeforms," Lance reported aloud.

"This planet was likely abandoned after the Galra attacked," Allura's image shimmered to life on the right side of his screen. Lance nodded his head and tried not to think about what kind of devastation had rained down upon the inhabitants however long ago this occurred.

"Hey guys," Hunk's voice said. "Not to be a pessimist, but I get the feeling we might just be a little too late."

"Even if there are no survivors at the beacon site, we might still be able to learn something from the wreckage," Pidge said.

"You know how in the movies, like, someone always says 'I have a bad feeling about this,' and it turns out to be, I don't know like, a ridiculous understatement?"

"Hunk," there was some interference in Keith's voice. "Don't do it, man. Don't jinx us."

"Can we maybe focus, guys?" Shiro said.

"Is anyone else picking up that interference?" The static was now present in Pidge's voice, too.

Hunk said, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Damn it, Hunk!"

"It's probably just the electromagnetic fields that Coran detected," Shiro said, but now his voice started to sound fuzzy too.

"It's not!" Allura's voice sounded far-off and tinny, like she was talking into a metal bowl. "It's some kind of-" the transmission cut off from the castle-ship, and Lance looked at the viewscreen in alarm, only to see static. He leaned forward in his chair and looked up, but the atmosphere of the abandoned planet reflected the same dingy color as the ground, with a thick cover of dirty grey clouds.

"Guys, I just lost Allura," Lance said. "Maybe we should head back to the ship, she sounded worried."

There was no response from the communicator. Lance yanked on the controls and brought the blue lion to a stop, hovering above the ground. "Guys?" Lance said again, and there was only a minor note of panic to the edge of his voice.

He turned the blue lion around, headed back in the direction he came. "Guys, do you copy? I'm not receiving, anyone there?" Nothing but static came back on his line, and Lance swore and hit buttons. "Shiro, Hunk... anyone?"

After another long moment of silent, there was a small fizz of reception, and a recognizable voice. "-ance? Lance, do you co-"

"Keith, is that you? What happened?" Lance turned his lion just a bit, trying to figure out which direction Keith would be in. He hadn't paid much attention when they fanned out, and he was realizing now that he definitely should have. There was no additional response.

"Okay," Lance said out loud. "Now is not the time to panic."

Who was he kidding. It was the _perfect_ time to panic.

+

The black lion hung out in the upper atmosphere, above the clouds that swirled heavy over the upper half of the planet. Shiro sat forward and stared down through the clouds, as if he could make the lion's sensors penetrate through the abnormal atmosphere through sheer force of will alone. He saw Pidge's green lion come up through the clouds again, quick.

"Still nothing," Pidge reported as her lion floated in low orbit beside Shiro's. "You get too close to the surface and you lose everything, all communications go out, all sensors. I could barely get a scan in before things went down."

"How are we going to find Keith and Lance if we can't get a message off to them?" Hunk asked worriedly.

That was the million dollar question. Shiro sat back in his seat and sighed, before flipping his communicator back on. "Lance and Keith aren't stupid," he said. "Once they realize they're not picking up anyone they'll fly out of the atmosphere and we'll be able to regain contact."

"And what if they don't? What if something's happened to them?" Hunk asked.

"We'll deal with that if it comes up," Shiro said.

"I still can't raise the castle-ship on comm," Pidge said, an edge to her voice. "At all."

"Orbit took it to the other side of the planet," Shiro said. "We'll regroup there, make sure that the Princess is all right, and figure out the next part of our plan."

"What did I say," Hunk said dejectedly. "Emergency beacons are bad news, we never should have left the ship."

"Keith and Lance can take care of themselves," Shiro said. "Whatever's going on, I'm sure they're fine."

  


 


	7. Chapter 7

The emergency beacon was still blinking a faded amber light, sitting on top of a long-dead console. Keith brushed dust and dirt off the computer, but exposure to the elements had long since corroded it beyond any hope of repair. The knobs and dials were all labeled in unfamiliar alien script (as opposed to the slightly-familiar Altean he had grown used to seeing); and the beacon had no writing on it at all. Keith picked it up and turned it off.

The small civilization was long-abandoned. It was the only bit of settled land he had seen across the miles of wastelands, and it was little more than a collection of stone buildings. Most were still standing, although few showed scarring across the sides, burn marks from firefights. There were no graves, no bodies, and little by way of furnishings had weathered the ravages of time. Keith had found the beacon in what appeared to be a command room, which still had a large stone table squared off in the center of the room. He walked to an open window, a square hewn from solid rock and rested his hands on the sill, staring out into the wastes.

There was what appeared to be a forest of some kind, the vegetation the same color as the landscape. It looked dead, and really, Keith didn't have any desire to visit it even if he _could_. Which he couldn't, at the moment.

When he landed in the settlement's square and disembarked, the red lion as usual put up its protective particle shield. But when Keith went to return, the first time.... well, the lion did not drop its shield to allow him access. "Oh, come _on_ ," Keith said, and smacked the barrier with his open hand. "I'm your paladin, why are you doing this to me now?"

Of course there was no response, and it wasn't like Keith could radio the others and tell them he was currently locked out of his irritatingly recalcitrant lion, so he set about exploring the small area and clearing it to ensure that he wasn't about to be attacked.

There didn't appear to be any life, of any kind. Besides the fact that the settlement was abandoned, Keith saw absolutely no evidence of animals of any kind. The place was eeriely quiet, the only sound the crunch of his footsteps on the dry earth, and the wind whistling occasionally through the buildings. The atmosphere was breathable, although it had an acrid, unpleasant scent to it so Keith hadn't taken off his helmet. He had spent a good measure of time by himself on Earth, by choice, but this was different.

He was completely alone, on a barren, dead world.

The daylight didn't seem to change, filtered through clouds grey and flat. Keith sat up on the roof and kicked his legs off the stone, wondering what happened with the others; if their lions kicked them out too or if it was just Keith whose lion had to act like a real cat and ignore him. He could imagine Lance's outright indignation if the blue lion did that to him, and Keith shifted a little, uncomfortable. But then he thought about Shiro and he grew _really_ uncomfortable, and the weight of the fact that he was still in heat settled on him and Keith groaned.

This shit was _obnoxious_ , how in the hell did Lance deal with it? Clearly the suppressants helped, but how did he deal with being so obviously horny all the goddamned time...?

Then Keith remembered it was Lance he was thinking of, and sighed. Okay, so Lance _didn't_ deal with it, he was just annoying about wanting to get laid at anything that would even consider him for half a second.

A soft hum filled the air, a distant, faint vibration. The area was so quiet that it was obvious well before he could see anything at all that it was something approaching, and _fast._ Keith pulled himself to his feet quickly, bayard in hand and prepared for trouble; just in case. He relaxed a little once he spotted the source of the noise, and waved one hand in the air. It was the blue lion.

 

* * *

 

"Don't get out of your lion!" Keith called, running over to where Lance had set the blue lion down next to the red lion. Lance clearly didn't hear him, as he hopped down from the winch. "Red won't let me back in!"

"What?" Lance said, as the blue lion raised its particle barrier as well. He glanced back at his lion and put his hand on the particle barrier, but it went right through and he stepped through it. Keith drew up short and stared at him, then glared at the red lion. "Having trouble with your ride, Keith?"

"I hate you," Keith said, and folded his arms, turning his glare on Lance. Lance smirked at him, then looked around.

"No one else made it here, huh?"

Keith shook his head. "I lost contact with everyone, but I found the beacon." He held up the small transmitter, and tossed it at Lance, who caught it and held it up, squinting at the device.

"Yeah, me too," Lance said. "Well, I mean I lost contact with everyone."

"I knew what you meant." Keith sighed. "Shiro and the others probably went back to the ship when they lost contact with everyone, I doubt they would have stayed on the ground."

"Well that's easily solved," Lance said. "I'll fly us back to the ship, then Allura can walk you through whatever mumbo-jumbo is needed to get you back on the same wavelength as the red lion."

"I'm not leaving Red," Keith said hotly.

Lance looked around, then looked back at Keith. "This is an abandoned planet, Keith. There's no one here to steal him."

"First, Red is a she," Keith said, holding up his fingers. "And second, no way. I am not leaving her behind, I'm going to figure this out."

"Huh," Lance squinted at the red lion behind the glimmering particle shield, then looked over to his blue lion, and back again. "How do you figure he's a she?"

"I'm not surprised you can't tell, you couldn't even tell about Pidge, and how long had you known _her?_ "

"Low blow, dude, she was pretending to be a guy."

"Not very successfully."

" _Everyone_ thought she was a guy!"

"No, I think that _you_ assumed, and no one else bothered to correct you, least of all Pidge." Keith smirked. "Besides, it's plenty obvious the lions are female."

"Oh yeah?" Lance puffed up, ready for another argument.

"Male lions have _manes_ , dumbass."

Lance opened his mouth, finger in the air. No sound came out. Then he closed his mouth and looked at the lions again. "Fuck," he said, and crossed his arms. Keith gloated a bit. "Well, if you're so _smart_ , why did _your_ lion lock you out and mine still likes me?"

Keith's triumphant expression fizzled just a little. "I'll figure it out," he muttered.

"Sure you will," Lance said, and spread his hands, looking consciously put-out. "I guess I'll just have to stay here with you until you do, because I'd never be able to live with myself if some ghost came along and ganked you in the night."

"There's no such thing as ghosts," Keith said, although there was an edge to his tone, like he was saying it more to convince himself than Lance.

"You keep telling yourself that, mi amigo," Lance said, and clapped Keith on the shoulder as he passed. Keith froze for a moment at the contact, but if Lance noticed it he didn't say so. Keith let out a long sigh and then realized that Lance was leaving the main square.

"Hey, where are you going? Wait for me!"

 

* * *

 

"So, it's good news, bad news time," Pidge said, stretching her arms above her head. "Good news, is I figured out how we can scan for Lance and Keith."

"That _is_ good news," Allura said.

"Yeah," Shiro said. "So what's the bad news?"

"The bad news is it's the clouds that are interfering with our scanners," Pidge said. "There's some heavy metal content in the cloud that's causing all sorts of distortion and interference. Even thermal imaging won't penetrate through them. I can get clear maps of every portion of the planet that isn't under cloud cover, but the rest..." she gestured up at the large viewscreen, which was mirrored to her datapad. The planet rotated illustratively, but there were large swathes of map missing. "I've never seen anything like it."

"So we just have to wait for the cloud cover to move," Allura said.

"It moves slowly," Pidge said. "There doesn't seem to be much by the way of weather patterns any more. But it does move."

"Hopefully one of them will have a clue and fly back to the ship before we have to worry about it," Shiro said. "But if they don't, we can scan for them. How long do you estimate until the clouds have shifted enough that we can look for them?"

"Couple of hours, max," Pidge said. Shiro nodded, and turned his attention back to the viewscreen, as Pidge's scanning program slowly, slowly filled in the blank portions of the map.

 

* * *

 

Lance took off his helmet and sat back against the low wall. He let out a long, aggravated groan and looked over at Keith, who was sitting cross-legged, his eyes closed, clearly concentrating. "Haven't you communed enough with your lion?" Lance asked. "I'm _hungry._ "

"No one asked you to stay," Keith said, without opening his eyes.

Lance rolled his eyes and scuffed one of his boots through the dirt. "I don't know, maybe your lion is worried that you're going to ruin its upholstery." He snorted when Keith opened his eyes and gave Lance a dirty look.

"What the fuck is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You probably should scotchgard the pilot's seat or something, if you get to thinking about Shiro you'll get so _wet_ _–_ OW!"

Barring any rocks within arm's reach, Keith threw his helmet at Lance, who ducked. "You're a _dick_ ," he yelled, and Lance laughed, which made Keith get up and storm over, intent on kicking him. Lance laughed again, despite the kick aimed at his ribs that connected enough for him to make a whuffing noise.

As Keith stomped past to retrieve his helmet, Lance rubbed his side. "You know, there's nothing _wrong_ with being an omega," he said. Keith paused, his back to Lance and holding his helmet in both hands. He sighed, and turned to look back at Lance.

"I never said that there was," he responded.

"You sure act like it," Lance said with a loose shrug. He fanned himself a little with one hand, and gave Keith a measured look. "You've been freaking out about it since you found out."

"No, I've been freaking out about it because my _hormones_ are out of whack," Keith said. "You would be too, if you were having your first heat in the middle of _this_ ," he gestured with one arm. "We're in the middle of an intergalactic war, sex is the last thing I want to be worried about!"

"Yeah, but I'm not," Lance said. "It'll be better, when this heat ends. The first one is usually the most intense, anyway."

"Goody," Keith muttered. He looked back at the lions and sighed. "I don't think it'll be better, though. I can't stop thinking about Shiro, and it's so _frustrating._ "

Lance was quiet for a long moment. Keith started to turn pink, which was really kind of cute, even for him, and then Lance shook his head sharply. "If you want Shiro to fuck you that badly, you should just tell him so," Lance said finally. "But you have to be careful around alphas, Keith."

Keith groaned aloud, and ran his hand back through his hair. "I can't believe I'm about to tell you this, but I already _did_."

"What?" Lance's surprise overrode everything else. "Oh, _shit._ He turned you _down?_ "

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Keith said, and sat down against the wall beside Lance, closer than he was sitting before.

"Well, we could talk about something else," Lance offered.

"Like what?"

"I dunno, basketball?"

Keith leaned forward and stared at Lance, who shrugged at him. " _Basketball?_ " Keith repeated, incredulous. "You don't know a thing about basketball."

"Well, it's something else," Lance said defensively. "I could ask why you're having such a shit time with your lion, you wanna talk about that instead?"

"I'm not having a shit time with Red, she's just being aloof."

"Aloof."

"She's a cat, I've always had a hard time with cats-"

"You know, I've overheard Shiro jerking off in the shower muttering your name."

"What the actual _fuck_ , Lance." Keith buried his face in his hands. Lance smirked at how red his ears had gotten, then rubbed his own hand over his face, because it was uncomfortably hot on the surface of this barren world. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Well, it's fun to get you all riled up," Lance said truthfully. Keith raised his head from his hands and glared at Lance, who shrugged and smirked. "And also, if I'm successful in hooking you two up," he leaned in Keith's direction conspiratorially, as if there was anyone else on this planet who could overhear him. "I wanna watch."

"Oh my _god_ ," Keith yelled, and hit Lance almost square in the face with his helmet.


	8. Chapter 8

Keith was standing with both hands pressed on the particle barrier of the red lion, his eyes closed and concentrating hard when he heard Lance mutter, " _fuck_ ," mostly under his breath. He had been quiet for quite a while now, and Keith let out a loud, aggravated sigh. " _Lance_ ," he said, annoyed.

"Yeah, whatever, sorry I interrupted your bonding time." Lance's voice was equally annoyed. Keith opened his eyes and looked back, as Lance pulled himself to his feet, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"What's wrong with you?" Keith asked, as Lance picked up his helmet at put it on.

"Nothing, I gotta take a leak," Lance said. There was something just a bit off about the way he said it but Keith couldn't figure out what it was, and he watched Lance stomp exaggeratedly off in the direction of the partially-crumbled buildings.

Well, Lance acting weird over seemingly nothing wasn't exactly out of character for him. Keith put one hand back on the particle barrier and looked up at the red lion through the distortion. "I don't know what's going on here," he said. "But we're partners, right?"

To his total lack of surprise, the red lion did not respond.

 

* * *

  

Lance stood with his back to the wall, one hand covering the lower portion of his face and breathing hard. He was far enough away that Keith wouldn't be able to hear him easily, but that didn't make things any _better_. He'd felt off since before they departed the castle-ship but it was easy to ignore, there were too many things going on for him to focus on it until now.

He'd started his heat early. _Very_ early.

 _Fuck._ His suppressants were on the ship. He hadn't stuck them in his pouch because he was regular, had been ever since he first presented almost two years ago, why would he have any reason to anticipate otherwise?

Keith was going to smell his heat. Lance closed his eyes and breathed out, brow furrowed, a little bit of anger building up in his chest. Omega heat cycles varied greatly depending on the individual, and when they were on suppressants it didn't much matter but those who weren't tended to synchronize to the cycle of the most fertile among them. If anything, Keith should be syncing up with _him._

He was going to punch Keith in the mouth, his life had been a thousand percent easier last week, giant alien space lions included.

Lance didn't dare touch himself, because if he started he wouldn't be able to stop and he did not want Keith to come looking for him. Fortunately the paladin suit hid that state of affairs well, although his underwear was going to be a total loss by the time they got back to the ship. Lance focused everything on thinking about anything _other_ than that, and headed back to the lions.

Keith was still standing in front of the red lion, but now his arms were folded and he was watching for Lance. "You all right?" Keith called, and Lance became very conscious of the careful way he was moving his body.

"I'm fine," he said dismissively. "Any progress?"

"Not really." Keith looked back up at the lion, brow furrowed, and then looked back at Lance. "Are you sure you're okay? You look..." he frowned, and Lance took a step back as Keith stepped forward. "Are you sweating?"

"No," Lance lied, and put up both hands to halt Keith. "I'm fine," he said, in aggravation, then looked away. "My heat's come early, okay? I wasn't ready."

"Your..." Keith stopped, and stared at him, watched Lance shift uncomfortably without comprehension. "Don't you have those suppressants you were talking about?"

"I do, but I wasn't supposed to cycle yet!" Lance's voice rose a bit.

Keith rolled his eyes. "You should be more careful, then; if you have suppressants you should carry them with yo-"

Lance took two large steps forward and shoved Keith with both hands, which caused him to step back against the particle barrier of the red lion in surprise. There was a flare of red energy that crackled up the shield before it dissipated, but the shield held firm. "This is _your_ fault," Lance yelled.

Keith shoved Lance back without even thinking about it, the blood going hot in his veins. "It is _not_ ," he shouted back.

This time, it was part shove, part body-tackle with Lance's shoulder impacting with the top quadrant of Keith's chest plate. Keith impacted back against the shield again, off balance, but he caught his fingers under a piece of Lance's paladin suit and yanked and Lance went down on top of Keith, both of them yelping in surprise as they hit the ground, helmets claging together. Lance pinned Keith with a hand on his shoulder, eyes narrowed. "Suppressants only work if you're on a regular _cycle_ , Keith," Lance snapped. "If you hadn't presented and started broadcasting your pheremones all over the damn ship I wouldn't have ended up with an accelerated cycle!"

Keith glared up at Lance, chest heaving, and used both hands to try to shove Lance off, one knocking his helmet askew on his head, the other planted on his chest plate. "Get _off_ of me!" Keith yelled. Lance tried to push his helmet back on but instead it clattered to the ground next to them, and Keith's hand started pushing on Lance's face. "Off, get _off,"_ Keith hissed.

"Ow, ow-" Lance turned his face against Keith's hand, sweat dripping from his hair. "You are an _asshole_ -" he snarled, but Keith had stopped pushing entirely and was now just _staring_ at Lance. " _What!?"_

"Is that – am I smelling _you_ -?" Keith asked, eyes gone a little wide. "Holy shit, is that what _I_ smell like?"

"What?" Lance repeated, now more nonplussed than anything. "No, I'm pretty sure you smell different than I do..." They were both breathing hard, Keith pinned in the dirt underneath Lance, and Lance said, awkwardly, "Maybe I should let you up-"

The thought was completely aborted by Keith's hand sliding up the rest of Lance's face, gripping the back of his head and pulling him down. Keith was still wearing his helmet, which meant Lance's forehead bounced off the visor, and he made a small noise of pain that transitioned straight into surprise as Keith still managed to kiss him.

Lance flailed himself up as Keith made a noise of disgust, then grabbed his helmet with both hands and yanked it off as Lance wiped his hand over his mouth in shock. " _Keith-_ " Lance said, but this time Keith put both his hands on Lance's face and pulled him down into a proper kiss this time, surprisingly hot and heavy, and Lance had to brace his elbows on the ground to distribute his weight better.

It took a moment after they broke apart, Lance breathing heavily, for his brain to begin to reconnect with the rest of his body. He stared down at Keith in confusion. "What the hell are you _doing_?" Lance gasped, still trying to reboot his higher functions.

Keith's face had turned pink, which Lance was beginning to find endearing and was a sure sign that the apocalypse was nigh. "I owe you," Keith said, and started to turn a darker shade of the same color. "Remember?"

This really wasn't making any sense at all to Lance. "And you think that _kissing_ is gonna repay things? That's only making things _worse._ " He shifted uncomfortably and started to push himself off of Keith, when Keith's hand landed on his hip and stayed there.

"Look," Keith said breathlessly. "I've been mostly hard since I landed, and I _know_ you're having a hard time, we should just... take care of things. There's no one around to hear us."

There was a ten-second pause as Lance's brain attempted to decrypt and translate what Keith was saying to him, because the obvious thing was just too insane for him to even begin to process. "Are you kidding?" Lance said, his voice going higher. "You want to ... _here_?" Another pause. "Are you out of your _mind?"_

Keith stared up at Lance, clearly confused by Lance's reluctance. "You... don't want to?"

Lance hesitated again, because he was wet, and horny, and he had never once been propositioned by another omega. "Not in front of the _lions_ ," he said, leaned forward just a little. "They're _watching us._ Besides, what if the others... show up?"

"Are you _kidding me?_ " Keith almost screamed in frustration. "What do I have to do to get fucking _laid_ -"

"What about Shiro, Keith?" Lance said, and pushed himself off of Keith, sitting back on his ass in the dirt with a thud. He was so hard it was painful, and he could feel his underwear sticking to him and he _hated_ it, at least that wouldn't show through the thick material of the suit.

Keith wet lips and pushed himself up on his elbows, staring at Lance a little more than an arm's length away. "Let me deal with that," Keith said finally. "Whatever happens here can stay here, okay? You've been helping me out, I want to repay the favor."

"Yeah," Lance said, chest heaving, his eyes not straying from Keith's. "Yeah, okay. Just... not in front of the lions, all right?"

 

* * *

 

Keith really didn't have any idea what he was doing, but that was all right because he suspected that Lance had even less of a clue. For someone who talked a big game, he sure seemed startled when Keith took his hand, and led him in the direction of the most stable of the ruins. Lance was unusually quiet, and when Keith looked back at him, he had a thoughtful, distant expression on his face.

"How are we gonna," Lance started to ask as Keith pinned him against a wall and kissed him again. Honestly, he'd thought more about punching Lance than kissing him, but it was almost more effective at getting him to shut up than anything else in his arsenal. He was going to have to remember that. "Keith!"

Keith had gotten his fingers under one of the latches in the paladin suit. "Can't do anything dressed," he breathed, and Lance turned the darkest shade he'd seen yet.

"You too," he said, one hand pushing on the chest plate of Keith's uniform.

"Yeah," Keith said.

They undressed in that same, uneasy silence. He'd seen Lance naked before, in and out of the showers and in the changing room, although Lance usually screeched if he thought he'd been seen and yanked a towel or robe over himself fast. He'd even seen Lance hard, just days ago when he'd pulled his pants down and delivered an unexpected blow job in his room. But he'd not seen him like this, as he stepped out of clearly-sopping underwear, his fully-hard cock bobbing, the insides of his thighs sticky with fluid.

"You don't have to stare," Lance said, and Keith, still halfway dressed, backed him right back against the wall and fell to his knees.

It was easier to let the animal brain take over, and his animal brain told him to bury his face in that warm, damp space by the root of Lance's cock and just inhale; hands resting on Lance's hips, feeling him tremble. He smelled so _good_ , indescribable, and Lance let out a tiny whimper and an "oh, god" as Keith's hands slid back along his hips to firmly grip his ass and spread his cheeks.

"You're so _wet_ ," he said, remembering how it felt when Lance had rubbed his fingers through the slick created by his heat, so he did the same for Lance; fingers circling his entrance and then pressing in. The reaction was worth it, Lance jerked away from the wall and then fell back just as quickly, impaling himself on Keith's fingers and letting out a low moan.

Keith drew back and looked around the room, staring at the large stone table in the center. This was where he had found the emergency beacon, it was in the best-protected part of the ruins. "Go lean against the table," he said, pulling his fingers out and withdrawing. Lance nodded shakily and did so, as Keith pulled off the rest of his outfit.

He was as wet as Lance was, he could feel it now, running down down his legs. That didn't matter as much to him because Lance had put his hands on the edge of the table, leaning forward and spreading his stance and putting his ass on full display. "Like this?" he said, looking back over his shoulder shamelessly.

There was something in his expression that Keith couldn't quite narrow down. He didn't seem _opposed_ to it, but he didn't seem quite as into it as Keith expected. He put his hand on Lance's ass and squeezed, and watched as Lance closed his eyes and ducked his head. "Hey, if you don't want to do this," Keith said. "We don't have to...."

"It's all right," Lance said, eyes still closed. "Just do it, already, _please._ "

Keith rubbed his hands over Lance's ass and spread his cheeks again, getting a good view for the first time; seeing him pink and wet and soft. Keith lowered himself slowly to his knees and, still holding Lance's cheeks apart, licked through the slick right up to his hole.

Lance did not expect _that_. He let out a surprised noise that shifted straight away into a moan, when Keith did it again. Keith really had no idea what he was doing, but by the noises Lance was making he had discovered something grand. " _Keith_ ," Lance moaned as Keith fingered him slowly and resumed licking, running his tongue over places that he normally would be disgusted to view, nevermind have all up in his business.

"Oh _fuck_ ," Lance gasped, head hanging down and hips jerking. Keith wasn't prepared for when he came, as his hole twitched and contracted, growing even wetter with fluid.

"Holy shit," Keith said, and drew back a little, wiping his hand across the bottom of his chin.

"Yeah..." Lance's face wasn't visible, and Keith rubbed little circles with his thumbs into the twitching muscle of Lance's thighs.

"Hey, Lance," Keith said. "Turn around."

"I don't want to," Lance said, head still hanging low. "If you're gonna do it, do it from behind."

There was a long moment of silence, and Lance's ears were red. Keith got up slowly from his knees, feeling his own legs weak, how hard and heavy his cock was. He put his hand on Lance's shoulder, and finally Lance turned his face toward him, eyes red and blotchy. "I'm not _crying,_ " Lance snarled before Keith could open his mouth, and scrubbed his hand over his eyes and looked away.

He stood in silence as Lance did turn around, standing more upright, leaned against the table and arms folded over his chest. "It's nothing, all right?" Lance said finally, still not looking at him. "I want to do this."

"I'm not an idiot," Keith said."Don't treat me like one."

Lance still didn't look at him. "This was a bad idea."

"It was one of the alphas in the garrison, wasn't it." Keith's voice went low. Lance actually flinched a little at the words, and Keith hissed out a breath between his teeth. "Who was it?"

"It doesn't _matter_ ," Lance yelled, suddenly. His words echoed in the dead air. He seemed startled himself, and closed his eyes. "It doesn't matter, Keith. I don't want to talk about it."

Keith put his hand on Lance's shoulder, and Lance didn't flinch from this contact. "All right," he said. "But if you want to... you know." Lance nodded his head, and opened his eyes.

"Thanks, Keith," he said.

"Don't mention it," Keith said dryly. "I guess we should get back."

Lance looked down at Keith. "But you haven't even gotten off yet."

"I'll live." Keith started to move away, but Lance caught his wrist.

He inhaled slowly, as if steadying his nerves, and said calmly, "that's not fair at all. I should get you off at least once." That said, he hiked himself up, carefully, onto the table and spread his legs wide. Then he leaned back a bit and raised his eyebrow and did his best to look sultry and Keith just stared at him.

"You can _not_ be serious," he said.

"C'mon, man. Weren't you just complaining about wanting to get laid?"

"Not like _this_ ," he said. "Lance, you were just-" Keith gestured with one hand, then sighed.

"Free pass. What happens here stays here, isn't that what you said?" Lance wrapped one hand loosely around his own cock and stroked it slowly. "When are you gonna get another opportunity like this?"

Keith let out a low noise and hiked himself up on the table next to Lance. This surprised him a little, but not as much as Keith throwing his leg over Lance's lap. Lance went over and hit his shoulders into the rough table top. "Do you trust me?" Keith asked, hands flat on either side of Lance's head.

"Dude, don't make me answer shit like that," Lance said. Keith didn't say another word, just stared down at him and Lance looked away for a moment, then looked back. "Fine, _yes_ , of course I do, idiot," he said.

"Good," Keith leaned in and kissed him, before Lance could remember where his mouth last was. Lance's hand came up and gripped Keith's side, and even as his brain caught up with him Keith oriented himself over Lance's lap, sliding his hand back to meet Lance's on Lance's cock.

"Keith," Lance said breathlessly. "What are you – _Keith-_ "

Keith didn't say anything else because he was too focused on what he was doing, making certain things were all lined up correctly and ordering himself to not freak out. He was relaxed, and slick, and as the head of Lance's cock slipped in effortlessly, Keith let out a low, satisfied groan.

"Holy _shit_ ," Lance said, his eyes wide; and his hands clasped on to Keith's thighs like they were drawn there by magnets. " _Fuck_..."

Yeah, Keith could definitely agree with that.


	9. Chapter 9

Pidge leaned back in the navigator's seat and stretched her arms above her head, cracking her back and her neck in succession. The weather pattern program she had written blinked lines of code at her, and the schematic of the nameless planet below rotated, half-finished on the desktop. A small alert tone drew her eyes to the globe, and she saw that the cloud cover above the northern continent was beginning to thin.

" _Finally,_ " Pidge said, and pushed her glasses up her nose. She started typing quickly, bringing up the ship's systems to start a slow thermal scan.

Because the clouds had not totally dissipated, they wouldn't be able to beam any two-way transmissions through to the lions; but a heat signature would point them in the right direction to go planetside and retrieve Lance and Keith, if they hadn't killed each other first. That was, Pidge assumed, if they were together ... it was equally possible that Lance had fallen into a ditch somewhere, and Keith was waiting on orders.

The door to the bridge whispered aside, and Hunk appeared, carrying a covered tray. "I brought dinner!" he said cheerfully, and Pidge gestured to the space somewhere on her left hand side, as if there were a table or ledge present to leave the offering of food. Hunk blinked down at her, noticing the alert on the screen. "Did you find them?" he asked, excited. "Should I call the others?"

"The clouds thinned enough to start a proper heat scan," Pidge said. "Might as well tell everyone else, by the time they get here it should be done."

Hunk carefully set the tray on the floor beside Pidge's seat. "I'll be right back," he said, and vanished off the bridge. Pidge looked down at the tray, and shifted in her seat just enough to nudge the covered plate with her foot. She didn't reason Hunk would bring her food cooked by Coran, because they all wanted to live, but it didn't hurt to check, first.

 

* * *

 

Keith flopped back against the rough surface of the table, both hands covering his face and panting loudly in the still air. He felt Lance shift, and then one of Lance's hands caught his wrist and tugged and pulled his palm away from his face. Keith tried not to look at Lance's face, he was clearly concerned but his cock was still in Keith's ass and that was really all Keith had the capacity to concentrate on at the moment.

"You okay?" Lance asked, and Keith gathered his thoughts enough to nod, slowly. Lance grinned -- no, he _smirked_ and Keith thought about how bad an idea this was, but only for a moment because Lance moved again and scattered his thoughts as easy as breathing.

It didn't take as long this time, Keith's legs tucked over Lance's hips as he stood at the edge of the table, moving slowly and steadily until Keith let out a choked noise and grabbed for Lance. He'd lost count, now, but he was sure Lance had too, but this time when Lance pulled out with an obscene squishing noise he didn't immediately plunge back in and make Keith nearly sob.

Lance stood between Keith's legs, chest heaving and eyes wide as he stared down at Keith. "Holy shit," he said softly, and ran his hand over Keith's belly, tacky with fluid from all the times he'd come.

"Yeah," Keith said, and meant to prop himself up on his elbows but found he really didn't have the strength so he stayed down and rubbed his hand over his eyes. "Don't take that as an indication of skill or anything, okay? You _clearly_ need some form of instruction in this."

"Whatever, man," Lance said, and rubbed his shoulder. "I'm not the one who was scratching up peoples' backs and _moaning_ -" He let out a long, satisfied sigh, and ran his hand down his cock, which was still half-hard. "I could probably go again, if you wanted...."

He was surprised at himself that he even considered it. "We should check on the lions," Keith said, but didn't move.

"The lions will be there," Lance said and leaned forward, over Keith.

"Yeah, okay," Keith said because he didn't really need to be convinced. He caught Lance's shoulder and pulled him down into a kiss as Lance spread his legs again and slowly, slowly, pushed in.

 

* * *

 

"This is concerning," Allura said, arms folded as she looked up at the heat signatures on the screen. Pidge's thermal scan had completed just as quickly as she had predicted, and by the time Allura and Shiro had returned to the bridge Pidge had brought up a display that showed two dull, fading heat signatures – the red and blue lion, parked side by side.

Their thermal profile was fading because they'd been inactive for a while, but all the same it was brighter than the surface of the empty, desolate world. "There are the lions, but ... where are the paladins?"

Pidge zoomed in on the lions. "If they're in the lions, maybe the scanner can't get a read on them," she suggested, but didn't sound convinced by that.

"If they were in their lions," Shiro said firmly, "they would have come back to the ship."

Pidge conceded that point with a small nod. She zoomed the image as much as she was able, and Hunk said suddenly, "what's _that?_ "

"What's what?" Allura asked, and Pidge stopped adjusting the screen.

"Back out a little further, Pidge," Hunk said. "I think I saw one of them."

"Really?" Pidge said, and backed out the image a bit. Hunk was staring at the far corner of the screen, and when Pidge zoomed out enough he jabbed his finger in the air at the image. "There! There's one of them!"

"Good eye, Hunk," Allura said. "There's one, but where's the o-" As she was speaking, the small blobby form shifted and detached and became two smaller blobby forms – but then went right back to one. "Oh,"Allura said. "What ... what _are_ they doing like that?"

There was a strained silence.

"Well," Pidge said. "Hunk, you owe me fifty bucks."

"That's," Hunk said, then turned pink.

"Pidge, did you get the coordinates?" Shiro asked, attempting to keep everyone on track. "Can you send them to the black lion? I'll go get them."

"Yeah," Pidge said, and typed quickly. "They've been sent." Shiro nodded once, and then with a last glance to the screen, turned and hurried off the bridge.

"I don't understand," Allura said. The blobby form had not disengaged back into two parts. "The surface of the world is not _that_ cool, why would th...." Allura trailed off as she reached the same unspoken conclusion. "Oh. Oh _my._ "

"I'm going to shut down the thermal imaging," Pidge announced, fingers on the keyboard.

Allura looked back at her, brow furrowed in concern. "Why?"

Pidge typed a few keystrokes and returned the viewscreen to the planet schematic, although there was a red pin in it marking the location of the stranded lions. "Because Shiro is gonna go into a rut when he smells them both and I, for one, don't really want to see that."

"That's ridiculous," Allura said. "Shiro has more self-control than that."

"Normally I'd agree with you," Pidge said. "But Keith's in heat, and I don't know if you've reviewed the training room tapes from the last few nights, but..." she shrugged. "It's been a close call." She looked around the bridge, surprised at Hunk's lack of reaction. "Hey," she said. "Where'd Hunk go?"


	10. Chapter 10

Shiro was just getting ready to leave the ready room when Hunk arrived. He stood in the doorway, one hand on the doorframe and only slightly winded after dashing down the long corridors of the ship in his pursuit. "Shiro," Hunk said, punctuated by heaving breaths. " _Wait._ "

"Hunk?" Shiro said, his helmet held in both hands. "What is it?"

"You can't go," Hunk said, firmly, having caught his breath. He straightened in the doorway and looked resolute. Shiro just looked at him silently, waiting for elaboration, and Hunk felt himself get a little angry, as if he didn't know what any objection might be to his retrieving of two wayward paladins. "Shiro, Keith's in _heat_ ," he emphasized.

At that, Shiro did look away, for just a moment, then back to Hunk. "I can control myself," Shiro said coolly. "I appreciate your concern, but I can deal with an omega in heat."

"It's not _you_ I'm worried about," Hunk said, and then gestured and stepped into the paladin's ready room. "Well, it _is_ , but not _just_ you."

Shiro grew quiet and looked at Hunk. "Lance has already been in heat once since we've been here," he said. "Nothing happened then."

"Lance is on suppressants."

"I can still _smell him_ , Hunk." Shiro said, and then turned a faint shade of pink and looked away. "Nothing will happen. I can promise you that."

"No you can't," Hunk said. "I've seen alphas go into a rut before, Shiro; no you _can't._ " He inhaled and said, "I'll go."

It felt like a whole lot longer than the few seconds it took for Shiro to consider this and nod once. "All right," he said. "You go." Shiro pulled on his helmet to access the communicator. "Pidge, transmit those coordinates to the yellow lion. Hunk is going planetside, I'm going to stay in low orbit as backup."

"Roger that," Pidge's voice said.

Hunk nearly jumped when Shiro put his hand on Hunk's shoulder as he passed. "Lance is lucky to have a friend like you looking out for him," Shiro said, and exited the ready room. Hunk let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and grabbed his own helmet. They couldn't afford to waste any more time.

 

* * *

 

Lance said, with a wrinkled nose; "this is _disgusting._ "

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't think to pack fucking _wet wipes_ or something," Keith said, seated gingerly on the ground and pulling on his boots. "I'll sure remember to keep those in my ready kit from now on. Or maybe condoms." He shifted uncomfortably on the ground and ignored the way that Lance turned pink.

"Where the hell are you going to get condoms in space? Are we gonna stop by the space mini-mart on our way to... wherever the hell we're going next?" Lance wriggled in place a little, and said, "I sure hope these suits are self-cleaning."

"Cool it. I brought some with me." Keith started to try to get up and stopped and frowned. Lance took a step forward and extended his hand, intending to help Keith to his feet but Keith just stared at the outstretched hand as if he didn't know what Lance was trying to do, then hauled himself to his feet without assistance.

"You. _You_ brought condoms." Lance couldn't fathom this at all, and put both of his hands on his hips, leaning slightly forward. "Hoping to get some space booty?"

"Will you stop using 'space' as a descriptor?" Keith said, blushing an equivalent shade of pink. "You sound like an idiot."

"Oh my god, it's to bang Shiro, isn't it. You brought condoms so you could ride Shiro like a horse-"

"Shut _up_ ," Keith yelled, and shoved Lance, who had started laughing. "You are such an _asshole_." Keith started to stomp toward the door, but his stride was weirdly exaggerated which only made Lance laugh harder. " _Dick!_ "

"Do you need a piggyback ride? I can give you a piggyback ri-OW!" Lance stepped out of range before Keith could kick him again.

"I am going to kick your ass later," Keith muttered.

"Hey," Lance said suddenly. Keith ignored him and made a point of refusing to be anywhere near Lance, walking with one hand against the wall and forcing himself to at least attempt a normal gait. "Keith, do you hear that?"

"You mean the fact that you won't shut up? Yeah, I hear that."

"No, _that_." Lance gestured helplessly around and Keith finally stopped -- and he could hear it too, very faint but growing steadily closer.

"Those are engines," Keith said. "Someone's coming!" He stopped leaning on the wall immediately, running toward the exit of the ruin, Lance right behind him. By the time they exited into the street, they both could see the small dot in the sky growing larger by the second.

Without a word they ran back toward the lions, Lance looking up at the sky periodically. "Hey, that's Hunk!" he said, as the now-obvious yellow lion did a low sweep of the city. They made it to where the blue and red lions were still sitting parked, but Hunk did not land.

"Lance, Keith?" Hunk's voice came through the external communicator system of the lion, but not the headsets built into their helmets. "Are you guys still naked? I'm not looking, I'm not-"

"We're not naked, Hunk, jeez!" Lance yelled at the lion. "Don't flying that thing with your eyes closed!"

"Oh, good," Hunk said. "Are you okay? Why haven't you come back to the ship yet?"

Lance and Keith looked at each other. "Keith's lion threw a fit and locked him out," Lance yelled, and he looked at Keith and grinned. Keith shoved him with one hand.

"Oh." Hunk hovered the lion for another moment, before setting it down on the other side of Keith's lion. "Okay, that's kinda weird."

"Tell me about it," Keith said.

"Lance, can you still get to the blue lion?"

"Easily." Lance walked over to the blue lion and put his hand on the particle barrier. Then he walked straight through, as the barrier evaporated around him. He turned around and waved at Keith, who rolled his eyes; then he blew a kiss and Keith turned visibly red under his visor.

Keith walked over to his lion and took a deep breath. "C'mon girl," he said softly, and put his hand on the barrier, and pushed.

The barrier evaporated, much like the blue lion's had.

Keith stood there with his jaw slack, unable to process what had just occurred. "Are you _kidding_ me?" he said, finally, as Lance hooted from under his own lion.

"I don't know what's going on here," Hunk said. "But we need to get back to the ship."

"Yeah," Lance said. "I'm going to take like, three showers. At the same time."

"That isn't even _possible_ ," Hunk said.

"It sounds like a considerable waste of water," Keith said, and Lance rolled his eyes and groaned.

 

* * *

 

Once out of the atmosphere, all systems came back online fully. "Keith, Lance," Shiro said from the black lion, hanging in orbit. "Glad to see you could join us."

Lance very much ignored the weird little tickle that shivered down his spine at the way Shiro said his name. "We would have been back sooner if Keith hadn't gotten into a fight with a semi-sentient red lion," he said, at the same time he heard Keith say, "Sorry, Shiro."

On board the castle-ship, Lance pulled off his helmet and shuddered. "Hitting the showers," he said as he left his helmet on the table – and was stopped by Hunk entering the room, followed by Shiro. Hunk wrinkled his nose at Lance.

"You _stink_ ," Hunk said, waving a hand in front of his face. "And not even, like that weekend you decided not to use deodorant, like you're really _rank_ , Lance."

"Thank you," Lance said, now ignoring the look that Shiro was giving him, because it was one thing to hear Shiro say his name, but quite another to be stared at like that with only Hunk as a barrier between them.

"That's not a compliment!"

Keith entered from behind Lance, and – well, having been apart even for just a short while to fly the lions back to the ship meant that Lance could now smell exactly how appetizing Keith was. He blushed just a bit, but thankfully both Hunk and Shiro's attentions had been drawn by Keith's entrance.

"Oh god," Hunk said, and pinched his nose shut. "Keith smells even _worse._ Fuck this, I'm leaving. Shiro?"

Keith raised his arm and sniffed. "I don't smell anything," he said, and looked at Lance, then realized Lance was very much staring at him and looked away. "But I need to hit the showers anyway."

"Keith," Shiro said, and inclined his head. "A word?"

Lance had been most of the way out the door – giving Shiro a wide berth for the moment – and he hesitated, and looked back at Keith. Keith looked from Shiro, to Lance – and then nodded. "I'll be just a minute," he told Lance, who nodded his head and, after lingering a few seconds more, headed out the door to the showers, leaving Keith and Shiro alone together in the ready room.


	11. Chapter 11

There was absolutely nothing better than standing under the hot, steady spray of a shower head when you were really, _really_ in need of a shower. Lance closed his eyes and tilted his head back and sighed luxuriously, before scrubbing both of his hands through his short hair and ducking his head through the spray again.

Okay, there _was_ one better thing, and he was going to have to hunt down Coran and ask if there were any baths anywhere on this ship. A nice long soak in hot water was a fantastic relaxer for sore muscles, although Lance figured if anything Keith would need that more than he would.

Lance felt his face heat despite himself, and he ducked his face into the spray again and rubbed sudsy water through his hair. He wasn't going to open, consider, nor even _think_ a moment on that. They were leaving _that_ on the dusty, dead planet and going about their business of being rivals who only occasionally got along. In fact, if he had to wager a guess at anything, Keith was probably on his knees sucking Shiro's dick right now.

Face back into the water, because he wasn't dealing with the way that thought curled and settled in his gut, cold and hard and black. There was nothing to deal _with_ , there was nothing to be jealous _of_. Keith had been pretty vocally clear about his pursuit of Shiro, and even before his heat had started he would make eyes at the pilot of the black lion without even realizing it. That had always been the way things were meant to go, after all.

Lance slammed the palm of his hand into the divider between the stalls, hard enough to make it wobble a little, and then started rinsing his hair in the spray. He had other things to do, like think up all the ways he could drag Keith over dinner for the fact that the red lion kicked its paladin out because he needed to get fucking _laid_ without expressly saying as much.

Wait.

Hunk had known.

_Shiro_ had known.

Well, Shiro would have been able to smell it on them anyway but there was no way he could have know _before_ they got back to the castle-ship? Was there...?

Lance slammed the shower off and grabbed his robe off the hook outside the stall. He intended to run but then slid on one heel on the slick tile and settled for walking quickly toward the exit, because the last thing he needed was to give himself a concussion. He had to find Hunk.

+

Shiro stood, with his back mostly toward Keith and his arms folded as Keith got changed. The emergency beacon, now deactivated, sat on the table in the middle of the room. "I don't understand why you didn't just come back to the ship," Shiro said, eyes averted respectfully, face gone pink under his scar.

"Red wouldn't let me back in," Keith said simply. He took the deactivated emergency beacon out of the pouch on his belt and set it on the table, before shrugging on a robe to wear to the showers. "We handled it."

Shiro's head tilted at the 'we.' "I guess I should just be grateful that things works out," he said finally. "I'm ... glad, that you and Lance seem to be getting along better."

"Shiro," Keith said softly, and he watched as Shiro squared his shoulders before turning around. It wasn't as pungent now, but it was still there, the scent of desire rolling off Shiro in almost visible waves. Keith watched Shiro wet his lips and felt his entire body tense up, even though Shiro was not raising his eyes to Keith's. "Look at me."

There was a moment where the balance of power in the room seemed to shift, and Keith felt his heartbeat speed up as Shiro met his eyes. They were both breathing harder than they should be, just standing in a room together, and after a moment of direct eye contact Shiro crossed the room to him.

Keith did not move at all when Shiro touched him – settled his hands gently on Keith's shoulders, and tilted his head in. He didn't touch Keith's face, although their foreheads brushed, and then Shiro was burying his face between Keith's neck and shoulder, breath hot along the flesh exposed by the loose collar of the robe.

"You smell like Lance," Shiro said, and didn't lift his head. "And sex."

Keith touched Shiro tentatively, settling his hands on Shiro's hips, wanting to pull him closer. "That's what happens when you have sex," he said, wondering if it was possible for his heart to just beat completely out of his chest.

Shiro went still, but Keith did not shift his grip, curling his fingers in the fabric of Shiro's clothes, squeezing tight. "Are you jealous?" he said, not entirely sure what emotion it was that was rattling around behind his lungs.

" _Yes._ " Shiro's voice was muffled by it's position against Keith's neck. He kissed the skin there slowly, the points of his teeth dragging delicately down to Keith's collarbone. "I want to mark you," Shiro said. "I want...."

"Then mark me," Keith gasped, and tilted his head back. His knees had gone to jelly with Shiro's mouth on him, and he didn't know how much longer he could stay upright.

"I want to _claim_ you," Shiro said, and Keith let out a whine. Shiro kept kissing down the open collar and as Keith leaned back and away Shiro fell to his knees. Keith shuddered as Shiro tugged open the belt of the robe, he was wearing nothing underneath it, prepared for the shower he obviously wasn't getting to.

"Claim me," Keith said, _begged._ Shiro's mouth went lower still, toward the center of the heat pooling in Keith's belly, and when his breath ghosted over the tip of Keith's cock a noise even higher-pitched than the last escaped Keith's throat.

This was really _happening._

Keith covered his mouth with the back of his hand, stifling any further vocalizations, his other going to Shiro's hair, brushing his fingers through the short, soft cut. Shiro wasn't looking up at him, instead investigating the length of Keith, licking and nuzzling and scenting, coaxing out Keith's scent from the mingled musk.

Shiro was breathing hard, and Keith could smell him now, his scent strong as his arousal. An alpha, primed and ready... and it was making him go wet again; uncomfortable after having Lance inside him. "Shiro," Keith said, around his hand, as Shiro licked him again.

He didn't have to ask, or direct – and he didn't want to think about how Shiro knew this already; how to swallow him down so perfectly, like he was made to take Keith's cock in his mouth; how to keep him stimulated, how to draw it out so that Keith didn't immediately shoot off down his throat.

By the end of it Keith had doubled over, both hands trying to find purchase in the tight fabric stretched over Shiro's back and shoulders. The moan escaped louder than he expected, but that was okay because then he was coming, hips jerking against Shiro's face as he swallowed Keith down, swallowed him all.

Keith didn't move for a few long moments, body trembling in the aftermath. He felt himself slide out of Shiro's mouth, Shiro's breath on the soft skin of his thigh as Shiro kissed him delicately there. Shiro smelled so, so _good_ , Keith could barely stay upright, he wanted to fall to the floor and just spread his legs right now, let Shiro claim him as he was meant to. " _Shiro_ ," Keith said, his voice shaky.

He couldn't see Shiro's face like this, but he felt the deep, shuddering breath that he took. "You should shower," Shiro said.

Keith made a small, confused noise as Shiro gently moved, which forced him to straighten. "Shiro?" Keith said again, because the only syllables he could process right now were the ones in Shiro's name. Shiro brushed Keith's sweat-tacky hair aside and kissed his forehead gently.

"Allura wants to speak to both you and Lance," he said. "Take a shower. Eat. Wash..." he trailed off, and Keith could feel the words he didn't say. _Wash Lance's scent off you._

"But-" Keith said, as Shiro stepped away.

"I have to go," Shiro said, and wouldn't look at him. Keith watched him leaved, stunned and still turned on, and then let out a loud groan of disappointment, pushing a palm back through his hair.

" _Hell_ ," Keith snarled, mostly to himself.

+

The doors to the ready room closed behind Shiro, and he leaned back against the wall, chest heaving. He drew a shaking hand over his mouth, but there was nothing there to wipe away, he'd swallowed it all down before he could even recognize what he was doing.

_Keith's face; his voice... his scent, but not just his scent, was it..._

He was so hard it _hurt_ , he'd never been so turned on. Shiro let out a low groan and rubbed his hand over his face. His life had just gotten _exceptionally_ more difficult.


	12. Chapter 12

The suppressant pills did their job, Lance reasoned, feeling more than a little better after having taken one. He hadn't felt the urge to knock over and climb on anyone since they got back to the ship, and he'd actually made it through an entire shower without touching himself once, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

(Especially with an alpha on board.)

He really wasn't interested in examining what any of that meant, because now he had to deal with the fact that _everyone knew_ what he and Keith had been up to; and while it was indeed a small crew, the thought of Pidge or Allura looking at him and _knowing_ was messing with his head. After too many awkward conversations in too short a time Lance retreated to his room to maybe sleep and hope that when he woke in the morning it was to another crisis so he didn't have to think about this one any longer.

The door to his quarters swished closed and he turned on the overhead light, prepared to get into his pajamas. Keith sat up in the bed and squinted angrily at the overhead light, and then turned to glare at Lance, who had frozen in place, jacket half off.

"What? Aren't you going to turn down the light? That florescence is harsh."

Lance regained control of his vocal capabilities after a long moment. "What the _fuck_ are you doing in my bed?" he said.

Keith shrugged and flopped back over onto his side, pulling the covers of _Lance's bunk_ up over his shoulder again, his back to Lance and the door. "Comfy," Keith muttered, as Lance still stood there, frozen in place.

"'Comfy?'" Lance repeated, voice escalating despite himself. "You have your _own_ bed, Keith!"

"Yeah, and I like yours." Keith rolled and sat back up again; Lance realized that his hair was still damp from the showers. "Is there a problem?"

"Damn straight there's a problem! It's _my_ bed!" Lance stomped over to the bunk, his shoes kicked off and made to reach for Keith -- but hesitated, when he got close. He rested both of his hands on the mattress and stared at Keith, who was a little bit pink. "I can smell Shiro on you," Lance said quietly.

Keith looked away.

Lance straightened, and exhaled. "Good," he said dismissively. "It's what you wanted, right?"

Keith still didn't look at Lance. He closed his eyes and sighed, then nodded his head once. "Yeah," he said.

Lance put his hands on his hips and nodded. "Then why the _fuck_ haven't you crawled into _his_ bed?"

"I don't _know_ ," Keith said suddenly, in frustration. "I feel safe here, all right? It's comfortable and warm and it smells like you and I feel _safe_ , is that what you want to hear?" He rubbed his hands up and down his arms and still refused to look at Lance. "I don't want to be alone. Again."

There was a long moment, and then Lance let out an aggravated noise and sat heavily on the edge of the mattress, arms folded over his chest. "I don't get _any_ of this," he said angrily. "I don't get _you_ , Keith."

"Sorry I'm so difficult," Keith muttered sourly.

"No you're not," Lance snorted in return.

"Don't tell me how I feel about something!"

Lance rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, then leaned back on his hands and looked at Keith. "Are you in love with me?" he asked, most facetiously. He immediately regretted that course of action when Keith instantly turned beet-red and refused to look him in the face any more. "What! No _way_."

"I'm _not_!" Keith said, staring at the plain white wall cast into grey by the shadow of the bunk.

"You just turned red! You're _totally_ in love with me."

"It's an embarrassing thing to be asked, dick!" Keith leaned forward and shoved at Lance's shoulder, but it didn't connect quite right and his hand slipped off of Lance's shoulder and landed on the mattress beside Lance's hand. They were both too close to each other, Lance's surprised face by Keith's.

Keith clearly couldn't help it, he wet his lips as he was staring at Lance.

" _Dude_ ," Lance said. "Shiro, remember? Big burly leader dude who you've been hopelessly in love with since ... before all this...?" he gestured with one hand, but didn't move from their uncomfortably close position, nor look away. "Guy you just had sex with?"

"I didn't have sex with Shiro," Keith said. "I've only done that with you."

Lance turned pink and finally looked away. "Well you should," he said quickly. "Get yourself bonded to an alpha, and you'll get your brain back."

"And what about you?" Keith asked quietly, and Lance shrugged exaggeratedly, still not looking at Keith.

"I haven't lost _my_ head," Lance said. He moved to get up and Keith caught his shoulder and pulled, and Lance gave off a surprised yelp as he fell back onto the bed and was pulled entirely down, his head narrowly missing banging on Keith's knee. " _Keith!_ "

Then Keith was leaning over him, both hands resting softly on Lance's face. "Keith, what are you _doing?_ "

Keith tilted forward over him, hair falling down around his face, and softly kissed Lance. Lance closed his eyes to the kiss, his hands reaching up to Keith to keep him there. Despite all the anger and hurt and confusion that seemed to keep bubbling up in his chest this felt good, and right, and Lance let out a little moan when he realized.

"I want both," Keith said against his mouth, and Lance didn't have to ask what he meant by that. "Can't I have both?"

+

It was the middle of the ship's night cycle. Lance lay awake in his bed, curled on his side, and unable to sleep. He could feel Keith's warmth behind him -- he was sleeping on his back, mouth open and snoring softly on each exhale. His body temperature didn't seem nearly as hot as it had been, and Lance knew his heat must be waning by now. The worst of the hormones had passed.

And he was still in Lance's bed.

Lance fully expected Keith to spring awake when he slipped out from under the covers, but he didn't. He did shift a little, rolling onto his side and reaching a hand out to where Lance had been, but his breathing didn't change a bit. Lance shrugged on his robe as he watched Keith settle back down, and then found his slippers so that he wasn't padding around the ship barefoot.

It was eeriely quiet out in the hall, the only sound the soft hum of the ship's processes. Lance held his robe closed and walked with purpose, his slippers muffling his footsteps.

The bridge was dark, the lights dimmed to sleep mode, but the forward viewscreen was active. It showed the brown curve of the planet below them, the soft fuzz of its atmosphere distorting the light, but above that an expanse of black filled to the brim with stars.

He knew by now how to activate the star map; but this time Lance didn't. He walked past the controls and stood in front of the viewscreen, looking up at the unknown stars, nameless points of light arranged in unfamiliar constellations. The expanse of space was so vast it was a little humbling, even for him. Lance snorted to himself, quietly amused, and then sat down n the floor of the bridge, head still craned up to watch the rotation of the stars as they sat in orbit around the dying planet.

If his head ever got too busy, there were always the stars. The great canvas of night painted with pinpricks of light, stretched far above his head and reflecting on the ocean; clouds nothing but a distant memory. It was so calm and peaceful, and he missed it.

The flash of something on the viewscreen caught his wandering mind, and Lance rubbed one eye, sleepy and certain he was hallucinating. The orbit of the castle ship locked it the same distance away from the wreckage of the ancient Galra ship; its dark mass and debris cloud nothing more than a soft dark blur on the edge of the screen.

Except – Lance had just seen something light up, in the midst of the wreckage.

He had to have been imagining it. Lance rubbed his eyes with his hand, sitting forward. Pidge had scanned the wreckage twice, there were no active systems and no life forms; whatever battle had taken place here long ago that was all that remained. But as he watched, the same light lit up – soft amber, then blinked out. The color was far too distinct to be light from the system's distant sun catching on debris, it glowed, it wasn't a reflection.

Lance stood up, waited for the light to glow again. It was a longer interval this time – then it glowed, and went out.

It didn't light up again. Lance swallowed, and wondered if he should wake everyone. He waited for the light to glow again but it didn't, and he sat back down. Maybe it was just a fluke, he reasoned with himself.

The fourth time it lit, nearly an hour later, Lance was leaned back against the console pole, arms folded over his chest and head nodded forward, asleep.

  



	13. Chapter 13

Lance was having a very nice dream about cheeseburgers. Well, to be entirely accurate it was about the little no-name burger shack by the beach that made the hands-down _best_ bacon and avocado burger he had ever had, mouth-wateringly good and he missed them _so much,_ when his dream was very rudely interrupted by a finger poking his cheek.

He batted at the finger and tried in vain to hold on to his dream, but it was already fragmented and gone. Lance let out a loud aggrieved sigh and opened his eyes, only to find that Coran was way _entirely_ too close in his personal space, face barely a hand's span away from Lance's own and finger out prepared to poke him again. Lance blinked once, slowly -- and then screamed.

Coran wheeled back in surprise, and Lance threw both of his hands out to shove the Altean away -- and that action caused him to flail back at the same time and crack his head into the support column he had been sleeping against. Lance leaned forward, both hands folded over his head and nursing his poor, aching cranium. "Why would you _do_ that?" he moaned.

"The bridge is _not_ the proper place for a sleepover!" Coran annouced as he straightened, hands on his hips.

"I'm not having a _sleepover_ ," Lance yelled as he lifted his head, only to realize that Coran was not the only person on the bridge. In fact, it seemed like everyone was present -- Pidge in her favorite claimed spot, the navigator's chair; Hunk and Keith standing behind her and Shiro standing beside Allura with his arms folded. " _Ugh_ ," Lance said and rubbed his hands over his face. "What _time_ is it?"

"You missed breakfast," Hunk called cheerfully, and Lance groaned. Then, abruptly, he remembered and flailed himself into an upright position, almost smacking the still-lingering Coran in the face with his hands.

"Has anyone else seen it?" Lance said to no one in particular, staring at the viewscreen.

"Uh," Pidge said, after a moment. "Seen ... what, Lance?"

"The light in the Galra ship!" Lance jabbed his finger at the forward viewscreen, and the dark mass of the wreck in the lower corner, a fixed distance away. "There was some glowing yellow light in there last night!"

With his back to everyone, Lance couldn't see the particular glances being exchanged, but the even longer moment of silence made him turn around, one arm still pointing at the wreck. " _No one else saw it?"_

"We've scanned the wreck half a dozen times by now," Allura said firmly. "There are no operational systems, and definitely no lifeforms. You must have simply dreamt it."

"I didn't dream it!" Lance said. He marched over to the viewscreen and jammed his finger in the approximate location of the light, to the best of his memory. "It was right here, it was yellow and it blinked a few times and went out!"

"Kind of like your brain," Keith muttered loud enough for Lance to hear.

Allura and Shiro exchanged looks, and Pidge leaned forward. "While there probably isn't anything operational," Pidge said, "I _did_ want to check out the wreck before we left."

"Wait," Hunk said. "You're saying you _want_ to visit a burned-out space-tomb?"

Pidge looked back at Hunk, as Lance and Keith said, at the same time, "Space-tomb?"

"Well, yeah," Hunk said, his eyes wide. "It's a burned-out wreck, right? It didn't get that way without a battle, and yeah the Galra have all those drones and robots but there would have been people on that ship too, so..." he covered the lower portion of his face with both hands, eyes still very wide. "Space tomb," he said in a high voice.

"What if there are space _zombies_ ," Lance said.

"Enough," Shiro said, his voice firm over Hunk's very loud whimper at the thought of _space zombies_. "Pidge, you're certain there aren't any operational systems on that wreck?"

Pidge immediately turned her attention to her console. "All the scans came back completely negative, and nothing seems to be..." she broke off and typed something else. "Hm."

Lance came around from in front of the viewscreen and parked himself in front of Pidge. "Hm?" Lance said. "Hm's not good. Or is it good? I guess it _could_ be go-"

"Shut up, Lance," Pidge said.

"Did you find something?" Keith asked.

"I'm not sure." Pidge stopped typing for a moment. "Last night there was ... I don't want to call it a transmission because that wouldn't be accurate, but _something_ came from the direction of the wreck. A few short bursts of something."

"See," Lance said. "I _did_ see lights."

Shiro inclined his head and looked over at Allura. "What do you think, Princess: Should we check it out?"

Coran, from his station, recalibrated the viewscreen to orient on the wreckage itself and not the edge of the planet. Floating locked in its eternal orbit, a dark mass against the reddish-brown backdrop of the planet below, the wreck looked wrong, like a blank spot in the canvas. "Yes," Allura said as she stared at the form on the screen. "Any information we can gain on what has happened in the last ten thousand years would be valuable." She nodded her head decisively. "Team Voltron must investigate!"

Hunk said, loudly, "I'll stay here."

Keith patted his arm. "She said _team_ , Hunk."

"I just don't do very well with ghosts." Hunk said as Keith steered him toward the door without looking at Shiro once.

Lance got up to follow them off the bridge, when Shiro said, "Lance? A word."

"Ooh," Pidge said as she ducked through the lift doors behind Hunk and Keith, right before they closed. "Someone's in _trouble._ "

"A word?" Lance said, stopping abruptly. "You know what a great word is? Defenestrate. It sounds like it's _so_ much dirtier _-_ "

" _Lance._ "

He stopped and raised both eyebrows as he looked at Shiro. Allura had covered her mouth with one hand and looked away, as if she was willing herself not to smile.

Shiro sighed, and unfolded his arms, planting his hands on his hips. "Will you and Keith be all right?"

There was a moment of sheer panic that overtook him – was Shiro actually asking about ... _that_ , in front of Allura, and Coran...? Whatever _that_ was that had passed between them over the last few days that Lance still hadn't had time to figure out, Keith in his bed and touching him and looking at him with entirely different eyes... Somehow, miracle of miracles Lance's voice didn't jump, or squeak, or break when he asked, "what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Shiro looked away and actually turned a little pink. "You're ... both in heat, right?"

And oh, this was worse. Lance turned red. "I've taken my suppressants, and Keith should be almost off his."

"I can still smell when you're on your suppressants." Shiro was still not looking at him, still pink in the face.

"I _really_ didn't need to know that," Lance said. "Is that all? You just wanted to make sure me and Keith didn't start dry humping a piece of debris while wandering around, right?"

Now Shiro looked at him. "That's not what I meant at all-"

"Lance," Allura said. "That's uncalled for."

"No, it's exactly what he meant." Lance's face was still pink, but it had moved from a flush of embarrassment to one of anger. "He thinks that omegas can't help themselves and will just start fucking anything that they can while they're in heat. Just like an _alpha_."

"Considering the way you two behaved yesterday," Shiro said, anger building in his voice. "It's not at all out of the realm of possibility and it is something I _do_ have to worry about."

"The only one throwing themselves at anything is Keith, throwing himself at _you_ ," Lance yelled, taking a step closer. Shiro actually _growled_ , and the blood that was already thudding hot through Lance's veins spiked when Shiro grabbed him by the front of his pajamas and yanked him forward.

" _Stop it!_ "

Allura's hands between them, one on Shiro's shoulder and the other on Lance's chest, shoving them apart with more power than Lance expected to feel. She placed herself bodily between them, her back mostly to Lance. "This is unacceptable behavior from paladins of Voltron, you both need to cool down immediately!"

Shiro turned away, his chest heaving, arms crossed again. He closed his eyes and a pained expression crossed his face. "I'm sorry, Lance," he said, but didn't lift his head to look past Allura at Lance.

He was dizzy and sick to his stomach and his heart was beating so loud he could barely hear Shiro speak again, or Allura as she turned to look at Lance again, her brow creased in worry. "Lance?" she asked, as he took a step back, almost stumbling over himself as he fled to the lift.

The last thing he saw as the doors to the elevator closed was Allura with her hand on Shiro's arm, but her concerned expression was directed to Lance, standing in the elevator with one hand braced against the wall and shaking.

 

* * *

 

Keith touched the wall plate outside of Lance's room, and the doors whisked open, unlocked. "Lance?" he said tentatively, into the dim room. The only lights came from along the wall, they glowed the same faint blue as their armor during the castle-ship's day cycle, and from that came enough light to see Lance sitting on the bunk, curled into a small, tight ball, a pillow clutched between his chest and his knees.

He'd left Hunk and Pidge in the ready room, waiting to board their lions and get going, and when Shiro entered, followed by Allura and still no Lance it made Keith's heart plummet. "Are you all right?" he asked into the dim room, which was a stupid question to ask, because if Lance was okay he wouldn't be hiding in the dark.

"I'm okay." His voice sounded normal, at least. Keith stood in the open doorway, hesitant. He'd woken up in this very room not very long ago, comfortable and surrounded by Lance's scent, even if Lance was no longer in the bed with him he felt warm, and safe. Keith stepped in the door and touched the wall plate, so that the door did not close behind him again.

He might not be the best and reading situations, but even Keith could tell the lie from the truth here. "You're not okay," he said, standing awkwardly.

"Then why the hell did you _ask?_ " Lance hissed, and now there was a break in his voice. Keith could hear Lance breathing quickly, and then catching his breath and trying to force it to normal again.

"Do you want to...?" Keith trailed off. He wasn't good at talking about it.

Lance answered right away though, a sharp " _no_ " that cut through the room like a knife.

Keith sat down on the edge of the bunk, close to Lance, but not too close. "I'm here," he offered. Lance shuffled a little and scooted to the edge of the bed to sit beside Keith, and it was still too dark to properly see Lance's face. He saw Lance set down the pillow Keith had slept on last night, then put his hands on his knees and hung his head. "We can't form Voltron without you," Keith added, and Lance let out a sharp, pained laugh.

Tentatively, Keith put his hand over Lance's on his knee. Lance inhaled once, held the breath deep and then leaned suddenly into Keith, the side of his head connecting solidly with Keith's shoulder. "If you tell anyone I was crying I'll hate you forever," Lance said.

"You already hate me," Keith said, concerned.

Lance let out another laugh, this one low and not quite as sharp-edged or bitter. "Yeah," he said, and rubbed the sleeve of his pajamas over his eyes. "Guess I do."


	14. Chapter 14

When Lance settled into the pilot's chair of the blue lion and opened the communications channel, there was already a lively stream of chatter between the other members. "Hey, guys," Lance said as he joined the group.

"Glad to see you finally joined us, Lance," Shiro's voice said. Lance momentarily caught his breath and swallowed the hesitation down; Shiro's voice had been normal; warm and welcoming and not ... _that_.

"Yeah," Keith's voice from the red lion. "You'll never guess where I found him."

"Keith!" Lance said.

"He was fighting with the mice for the breakfast scraps," Keith continued, as if Lance hadn't said a work.

"You promised you wouldn't tell," Lance whined, exhaling in relief as the others laughed. "I was _hungry._ "

"Oh!" Hunk said. "I know you missed breakfast, Lance, I brought some snacks for you!"

"Hunk," Lance said with a sigh. "How, exactly, are you going to get those snacks to me?"

"Oh. I didn't think about that."

"Guys," Shiro said, as Lance's blue lion joined the others outside the castle ship. "Bring it in. We're going to do one quick sweep of the wreckage and see what we turn up." Affirmations came through the line from the others, as the five lions crossed to the ancient, silent ship.

"Whoa," Lance said as the dark ship grew large in his front display. The Galra ships they'd already encountered had been massive; some in fact bigger than this. But those had been active ships, glowing with lights and activity and brimming with danger. This was just a mass of darkness and silence, a foreign object that didn't belong, locked in eternal orbit with the planet below. It was eerie, and he was beginning to think that Hunk was right to call it a 'space-tomb.'

"Still no activity," Pidge said. "No life-signs, no systems activity."

"What about short-burst transmissions?" Keith asked.

"Haven't seen any of those since we launched," Pidge said. "We were too far to get a proper fix on them before, and without any new transmissions I can't determine what part of the ship they came from." The green lion landed on the outside of the ship, along a swath of undamaged hull near the huge, gaping wound shot through its side.

"She's going to say 'the only way to find it is to board the ship,'" Hunk said.

There was a pause, and then Pidge said, "since Hunk said it, I guess I don't have to."

"I _knew_ it."

"I don't like this," Keith said. The red lion went under the ship, dodging gracefully through the minefield of debris. "Something feels off about the entire situation."

"I agree," Shiro said. "Hunk, you and Keith stay out here, keep an eye on things. Lance, you and I will accompany Pidge."

Lance swallowed hard as he watched the black lion land not far from the green lion. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather take Keith? After all I have a long-range weapon-"

"So do I," Hunk said cheerfully, oblivious to Lance's discomfort.

"Thank you, Hunk," Lance muttered. There was a soft click on the radio channel, and a private feed was pushed through to Lance's helmet, not the open channel of communication between all the paladins, or even the video chat.

"Go," Keith's voice in his ear, and Lance felt his stomach flutter. He turned pink under his visor, thankful that at least at that moment, no one could see him. "I trust Shiro. You did, too."

Lance had already pushed the blue lion into a descent toward the side of the ship where the other two lions were currently locked, magnetized, to the outer hull. He _did_ trust Shiro, and he knew he did, but it was Keith's voice in his ear that moved him forward ... and _that_ was something he was really going to have to examine.

He had a lot of things to think about, later.

 

* * *

 

Keith closed the private radio channel and exhaled, sitting back in his seat. He watched the blue lion arc away from where Hunk's yellow lion was floating in space, heading toward the side of the Galra ship where Pidge and Shiro were already waiting for him. He knew Lance just needed the nudge.

On the left side of his screen, Hunk's face popped up, a direct communication line. Keith glanced over at it, and saw that Hunk's expression was concerned. "Is Lance okay?" Hunk asked. Keith stared blankly at him, and Hunk continued, "I mean, is he okay-okay? I know Lance isn't _okay_ , but is he okay-okay?" Hunk wiggled a hand in the air and, at Keith's still somewhat-blank expression, sighed.

"I don't think Lance is okay at all," Keith said, and Hunk stopped and gaped at him.

"You let him _go_ and you don't think he's okay!?"

"It's not ideal." Keith's hands curled into fists resting on top of the controls of the lion. This wasn't a new feeling; but it was new toward Lance and he didn't like the pall of helplessness it cast over him. He couldn't protect Lance, just like he couldn't protect Shiro -- all he could do was keep training himself so that he could stand alongside them. "But that's the way it has to be."

Hunk was quiet for a long moment, the visor of his helmet covering his eyes. Keith couldn't interpret the expression on his face. "If you let him get hurt..." Hunk said in a tone Keith had never heard before.

"I won't," Keith said, and flipped off the video chat, cutting the communication between the red and yellow lions and leaving only the open voice channel. He could feel his heart beating hard in his chest, and swore he could feel the systems of the red lion surge in time with his heartbeat. Keith closed his eyes and breathed deep. He would find his center again.

 

* * *

 

Lance popped the canopy on the small speeder and then immediately gripped the edges as he floated out. The atmosphere of the ship was compromised, there was no artifical gravity, and Lance hung on to the canopy for a moment until Pidge came around from her speeder.

"How are you walking?" Lance said, a little too loudly.

"The boots have electromagnets," Pidge said. "Activates from the same area as the rockets on your back."

Oh. That made sense. Lance proceeded to activate the magnets in his boots from his floating position several feet in the air, and then slammed feet-first into the ground with enough force that he felt it through the paladin armor. " _Ow,_ " Lance seethed, as Pidge stood there, typing into the input field on her suit.

"You should be more careful," she said without looking up.

Shiro came around the same way Pidge had, using a quick burst from the shoulder-mounted rockets to move quickly and then activating his boots so he didn't overshoot into open space. "Got a lock on anything, Pidge?" he asked.

"Not really." She looked up finally, and then all the way up, where they could see many of the ships levels burned directly through. "But I've got an approximate idea of where to start, at least."

"Tell me you don't want to search this entire ship," Lance said with a groan.

"Given the proper time and resources, I would love to," Pidge said.

"Two things of which we have little to spare," Shiro inclined his head. "Where are we headed?"

"Either the brig, or the armory," Pidge said.

Even without looking at Shiro, Lance could feel the flinch. "Maybe we should start with the armory," he suggested. "Maybe we'll find some awesome Galra weapons we can bring back as souvenirs."

"Don't bring back souvenirs," Hunk's voice said in his ear. "It'll have some wicked Galra general's ghost attached to it, and it will creep around the ship slowly killing us all in horrible, horrible ways."

"Or maybe just Lance," Keith's voice said dryly. "It would serve him right for looting a space-tomb."

"It's not _looting_ ," Lance protested, and Shiro sighed but there was clearly a smile tugging at his mouth behind the visor.

"Stop calling it a space-tomb," he ordered. He glanced to Lance. "No looting," he emphasized, and Lance threw his hands in the air in a full-body WTF measure.

Pidge said, abruptly, "guys?"

Lance stepped closer and rested his arm on her helmet. "What is it?" he asked, and Pidge shoved his arm right off.

"I don't know," Pidge said. She stared at the display projecting over her arm, and then typed again before looking at Shiro, who was watching her closely as well. "I think Keith is right," she said. "Something's definitely weird here."

"We'll be extra cautious, then," Shiro said, and gestured for Pidge to start them off. "Lead the way."

 


	15. Chapter 15

The cavernous hallways of the Galra ship were dark, and filled with small bits of loose debris. Given the enclosed nature of the halls, they maneuvered with the rockets on their back and only walked when needed, as it was slower progress on foot.

Pidge went first, her tracker displaying in cool green above the left forearm of her paladin armor. She was concentrated on that far more than on where she was going, which meant Lance had to grab her by the shoulder at least twice to avoid running directly into walls and closed doors.

He had his bayard in hand, prepared for trouble ... although he wasn't entire certain what good it would do, if the nature of the trouble fell beyond 'marauding aliens and/or tech gone bad.' All the same it felt more comfortable to have a weapon in his hand than not, especially traveling directly behind Pidge, who was paying less attention to that and more attention to the slow schematic being draw by their movements.

"You know," he said as Pidge stopped before a large set of doors. "I've seen horror movies that start like this."

"Yeah?" Shiro said from behind him, bringing up the rear. "So have I. What's your point?"

Lance scowled. "My point is, there's a possibility of face-sucking aliens behind every door."

"Highly unlikely," Pidge said. "Besides, even if that were the case, I doubt they would be able to survive in a vacuum." She typed a few more keystrokes and gestured to Shiro, who moved forward to put his hand against the scanner plate. As he did so, his hand and arm glowed purple with the Galra's energy, enough to power the systems and allow the door to slide open.

Lance and Pidge barely had any time to react as two large, dark figures lunged out of the open door. Shiro yanked his hand off the plate, but Lance was faster, bayard in hand, and the transformed bayard-gun lit the entire corridor as he blasted one of the figures directly through the chest. That caught it and spun it, and the form thumped helplessly against the wall on Lance's other side. The one he hadn't shot hit the wall hard and bounced, and then continued to float lifelessly.

"I heard shots," Keith said through the open communication. "You guys okay?"

"We're fine," Shiro said, as Lance pointed his weapon at the other form, but the body hung suspended in the zero gravity. "Just found some of the ship's former crew."

"Space zombies!?" Hunk gasped.

"No, just bodies," Shiro said. Pidge was still rooted in spot, and Lance still had his weapon in both hands. They both were breathing hard – Shiro clapped Pidge on the shoulder, and she looked up at him, then back down to her schematic. "This is the armory."

The room was not as large as Lance expected, although it was filled with rows of unfamiliar weaponry lining both walls. Pidge let out a disappointed noise as she surveyed the area. Most of the weapons were bolted down and secured, so there wasn't a lot of free-floating materials. "Doesn't look like anything's here," she said, boots to the floor.

"Just a few dead Galrans," Lance agreed, and shuddered. He relaxed the death-grip he had on the plasma gun and pointed its muzzle down at the floor as well. "Now what? To the brig?"

He could hear Shiro take a deep breath before voicing his assent. "To the brig. Right, Pidge?"

Pidge had floated to the center of the room, where a lot of dark items hung suspended. She passed a beam of light over them, checking for things of interest. "Hm," she said, and then, "what? Oh, yeah – the brig. We'll head there in a minute."

"What did you find?" Shiro asked, as she put a few things in her pouch.

"Hey, no looting!" Lance said.

"It's not looting if it's for scientific research," Pidge said. "Right, Shiro?"

"Well I want one of the guns. For research."

"Guys," Shiro said. Pidge shrugged her shoulders and kicked off the floor, floating back through the door and, still grumbling, Lance followed.

 

* * *

 

"Hey, that looks like a training room." Lance said, stopping and catching on the edge of one open blast door. Pidge stopped and looked back at him, peering into the cavernous darkness. They had looped back around, headed toward the brig, and the training room was situated in a position that left it partially decimated by the blast that had destroyed the ship. From the far edge of the room glowed starlight, and beyond that it was lit by the system's sun, reflecting off the atmosphere of the planet below.

And in the center of the room, a strange pillar with runes scrawled over it. The top was not level, but carved into what looked like the tip of a paintbrush, curled and styled. "Whoa," Lance said, still floating as he held onto the edge of the blast door with one hand. "What is _that_ , that doesn't look like anything I've seen before."

Pidge heard Shiro's intake of breath as he caught up with them and looked into the training room as well. "Doesn't really matter,"she said. "Unless that pillar is the source of light, or the origin of the transmissions-"

Lance ignored her, kicking off into the training room. "Lance!" Shiro said, and attempted to grab him by the back of his armor. He moved too slow, and Lance floated into the room, plasma rifle still held in both hands as he approached the pillar, mesmerized. "Shit," Shiro said suddenly, and kicked into the room after him. Pidge blinked in surprise and entered the compromised training room last.

The pillar was larger than first thought, it dwarfed Lance considerably as he stood in front of it, rifle shifted to one hand. It was at least twice his height. Shiro activated the magnets in his boots and stopped just behind Lance. "Lance," he said again, intending to sound severe but instead there was an edge of panic to his voice.

"It lit up," Lance said, voice full of wonder. Pidge looked to the pillar in alarm, and sure enough a faint yellow light shot up and around, starting at the base of the pillar and ending at the paintbrush-like-tip ... which, when lit, resembled a flame. "This is it, this has to be it, I bet you can see it from the ship!" He touched his helmet with one hand. "Did anyone else see the light?" he asked.

Pidge said, "that's not possible. There are no active systems onboard the ship, and that thing's not _alive_. It's not picking up on any of my scanners, how is it doing that?"

"Druid magic," Shiro said, in a pained voice. "It's druid magic, we don't want to mess with that. Lance, get away from it-"

Lance ignored Shiro again and stepped forward, one hand out to touch the pillar. " _Lance_ ," Shiro barked, and grabbed him by the shoulder, even as Lance's palm touched the pillar. It sparked a brighter color, amber-gold, originating from where Lance's hand touched the pillar and causing the light to burn ever brighter for one moment.

Then the light went from swirling around the pillar to enveloping Lance and Shiro, a yellow so bright Pidge had to squint and look away. "Lance, Shiro!" Pidge yelled, throwing up one hand to block the light; when it faded and she dropped her arm, the other two paladins were gone as if they had never existed.

"What," Pidge said, remarkably calm, "the actual _fuck."_

  



	16. Chapter 16

Allura leaned in toward the view screen, squinting closely at the runes that marked the now-darkened obelisk. "I don't recognize that writing," she said to Pidge, who stood close to the device. "It's not any I'm familiar with."

"It's not Galra writing?" Keith asked, standing beside Pidge. He had his arms folded and all his attention on the pillar, as if waiting for a new attack, or for it to spit back out his friends. He wanted deeply to lean in and touch it, it almost felt like it was _calling_ to him to do so, but he kept his arms folded and his attention on the conversation because he could do little good from the other side of ... whatever this thing was.

"No. Or, if it is it's a very obscure dialect," Allura said. "The pillar itself doesn't even look Galran in its construction."

"Shiro said it had druid magic," Pidge said. "Druids are Galran, right?"

"Yes, but that does not discount the idea that its construct is foreign in nature, and somehow co-opted and corrupted by the Galra forces."

Keith's hands were curled into tight fists under his folded arms. "I wonder what would happen if we destroyed it," he said grimly, thinking about the weight of his bayard-sword in his hand.

"Whoa there," Pidge said. "No destroying artifacts until we get our teammates back, Keith."

"Yeah, that's a great way to get Lance and Shiro stranded where ever it sent them," Hunk said from the yellow lion, still left outside the ship, on guard. Keith let out a grunt but didn't shift or move his position. "So ... what do we do now?"

"Good question," Pidge said. "Allura, what do you think?"

She sighed over the communicator. "I'm not sure what I think. Perhaps you three should return to the ship, and we'll plan what to do next."

"I'm not leaving," Keith said, eyes never drifting from the obelisk. Pidge hesitated and looked at him, then looked at the small picture of Allura that was projected from the forearm of her armor and gave a little half-shrug.

"Keith," Allura said, and Keith cut her off.

"I'm not going _anywhere_ ," he said, the undercurrent of emotion heavy in his voice.

Allura sighed again over the communications channel. She could very easily have ordered them all back to the castle but didn't. "Your paladin suits only have a limited usage time out of atmosphere," she said. "Please be careful, Keith."

"I'll stay too," Pidge said. "I can do more investigating here than from on board the castle-ship."

Hunk let out a loud groan. "If they're staying, I should stay too," he said, sounding a little mournful but at the same time, determined.

Keith didn't really hear the discussion. He was too focused on the obelisk, and its strange yet familiar script. He kept his arms folded and stared at it and thought, with single-minded focus; _I'm not going to lose them both._

 

* * *

 

Waking up from being knock unconscious was a trip. Lance blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling above his head and thought for a moment about how much his head hurt. It was a splitting agony, and he could barely focus on anything at all except for the pain. It was enough that he almost closed his eyes and went back to sleep, except for some random memory of how bad it was to sleep with a concussion and having to keep a cousin awake after he'd gotten one playing soccer years ago. Lance struggled to the surface of his mind, fighting against the pain and opened his eyes again to that unfamiliar ceiling, before slowly but surely hauling himself into a seated position.

He wasn't alone.

It was a holding cell of some kind; open on one side, and with actual, physical bars that ran from the ceiling to the floor. Lance rubbed his face with his hand as he looked at the half-dozen aliens around him, species unfamiliar and only one even vaguely humanoid. "Where am I?" he asked one pink alien who stood on four legs and had an additional two arms, who seemed to be looking directly at him. The alien waved its antennae but didn't seem to acknowledge Lance's question at all. He tapped his arm to bring up his communications to ee if that would tell him anything; but while he was definitely still wearing his paladin suit, none of its external systems seemed to be operational.

No comm. No distress beacon. No _scanners._ Lance sat forward on the bunk and swung his legs over the edge. "Hey," he said, addressing the pink alien again, a little angrily this time. "Where is this? Did you see the other guy I was with, tall, broad-" Lance spread his hands apart in a generous description of Shiro's shoulders, "scar on his face?" He'd almost said that Shiro was the black paladin, but did not want to give it away ... if whoever had them captured was friendly with Galra (or Galra themselves), he didn't want to knowingly deliver themselves up.

There was a commotion from outside the cell, and the other occupants of the cell all plastered themselves along the bars, murmuring among themselves in a variety of languages that were beyond Lance's comprehension. The suits had a built-in language translator, but that only worked if the suit's computer systems were up and running, and given the lack of everything else, he really wasn't surprised. Lance hauled himself to his feet, and moved to the edge of the cell to see what the ruckus was about.

As he did so, Lance realized that, for the most part, he was taller than most of the aliens in his cell. At least he wouldn't have any trouble seeing what was going on, although two blue aliens that were more torso than lower body made room for Lance to press up against the bars as well. Lance leaned forward as much as he could, and first saw the distinctive purple fur and purple armor of the Galra. Oh. _That_ was definitely not good. Lance started to move back, out of sight – when he realized that the two Galra guards were dragging someone bodily between them and Lance slammed into the bars of the cell, gripping the bars tightly.

_"Shiro!_ "

It _was_ Shiro. He wasn't wearing his paladin armor – instead that jumpsuit and rags he had been wearing when Lance first saw him; head lolled to one side and barely conscious as he was manhandled down the hall. "Shiro!" Lance called again and yanked at the bars of the cell, but they held firm. He turned and slammed his shoulder into them, hoping for a dent, or some kind of distraction, but the Galra didn't even look at the cell Lance was in; opening the one across the hall, and shoving Shiro through. Lance watched as Shiro staggered a few steps under his own power and then collapsed to the floor, curling into a ball, his back to the cell.

Then, as he watched, the image shimmered just a moment, and he could see Shiro, curled on his side, in the paladin armor, before the image was replaced to the one Lance had originally seen.

"What..." Lance said, both hands gripping the bars of the cell again. The aliens around him were still murmuring and chattering in a multitude of foreign languages, but Lance could ignore all that easily, because he was staring at Shiro.

He pressed his helmet to the bars and squeezed his eyes closed. Then he turned his head and looked as far up the hallway in either direction and shrugged. If half his suit's systems were inoperable, chances were good his bayard wouldn't do a lot of damage either, but he wouldn't know until he tried, so Lance took a step back and released his bayard, which then proceeded to transform into his rifle.

"All right," Lance said. "I don't know what the hell is going on here, but this is a jailbreak." He pointed the plasma gun at the bars where he was standing, and pulled the trigger.

The gun did not fire.

_"Quiznak,_ " Lance said. He moved back to the bars and put one hand on them, staring at Shiro from across the hallway. He hadn't moved, back to them, one hand up and holding his right shoulder and the only indication that he was still alive was his chest rising and falling rapidly. "Hang on, Shiro," Lance said, as if Shiro could hear and acknowledge him. "I'll get you out of here."

Now he just had to figure out _how._

  



	17. Chapter 17

"Hey," Lance said, leaned against the bars of the holding cell. "Hey, you. Purple face." He waved his hand through the bars at the two passing Galran guards – actual organic people, not those soldier-drones they had seen so much of already. "Your mother was a diseased bat!" Just like the last time they had passed by, the two guards seemed unaffected by Lance's words, although this time he won a small victory of the closest guard glancing in his direction.

The drones walked by every twenty minutes or so, roughly, on a looping patrol of the holding area. There was very little foot traffic otherwise, which had explained the excited reaction from the others in the cell with Lance when the Galrans had dragged Shiro down the hall. Maybe once an hour two of the purple-furred Galrans would patrol the halls personally, never really looking at the cells, just straight ahead as they walked.

Lance's original plan had been to cause enough of a commotion that one of the soldiers would come investigate, but so far they seemed immune to his taunting; but at least they seemed to be _hearing_ him. With the way the other prisoners were reacting Lance thought for a while he was properly invisible. After observation, though, most of the aliens huddled up with like; or at least with those who could understand them. And with Lance's universal translator broken, not a one of them seemed to understand him at all.

He stared out the bars across the hallway to the other open cell, where Shiro hadn't moved since they brought him in. He still lay on his side, his back to the open bars of his cell, and the only movement that Lance could see was the occasional rise and fall of his chest as he breathed slowly. Lance rested his helmet against the bars and closed his eyes to try to think.

This wasn't getting him anywhere. Sooner or later someone would notice that they'd captured not just Shiro but another Voltron paladin and then they would have Zarkon all up in their business and he'd _really_ be screwed. Lance banged his helmet against the bars and listened to the reverb with his eyes closed. It was a stroke of luck, no matter how small, that the Galra ship they'd been transported to was apparently so backwater that they didn't recognize the paladin armor. He had to capitalize on that.

He looked back around at the cell itself. The walls were mostly smooth – some parts were scored where prisoners of the past had gone mad, clawing, biting and doing other things to the surface, but never gouging enough from the walls to be useful. The bars extended directly from the ceiling into the floor, no holding or casing, and there was no lock to try to pick or force ... when a soldier came by to open it he did so by pressing a wall plate and the bars receded into the ceiling or floor.

Lance leaned his shoulder against the bars and pulled out his bayard again. In the dim light of the prison cell even the edge did not glow its brilliant blue, but instead stayed a muted color, as if signifying its low-power status. Lance groan and knocked it against the bars, then on a whim turned it and stuck it through the bars, pulling its sharper edge against the metal to see if it would do any damage. The noise was ungodly, several of the aliens nearest to Lance winced and clapped appendages over auditory processing holes, grumbling angrily in Lance's direction.

He wasn't really paying attention to the reaction, because he was staring at the bayard, recovering its bright blue color.

Lance withdrew the bayard back into the cell and watched the color fade out, and then stuck it back between the bars and watched it refill with color. He almost laughed. "A weapons jammer," he said in amazement. The cells had some form of jamming system which was messing with hsi suit, but the protections didn't extend to the hall where the Galra or their soldier drones might be called upon to discharge their own weapons. Plus, he was willing to bet prisoners were searched anyway so no one expected them to even have a knife, never mind a full-on plasma gun.

"All right then," Lance said as he transformed the bayard into a plasma rifle. It was awkward to hold through the bars, and he didn't have a whole lot of range or aiming capacity, but the fun was getting ready to properly start. "Jailbreak: 2.0!"

 

* * *

 

The sounds came from far away, muffled like they were pushed through water. Shiro ignored them, like he had been ignoring much of everything around him. The pain was the thing foremost on his mind, crippling in its intensity, the nerve endings of his right arm burning fresh with the new connections. It was too easy to get lost in it, and Shiro kept his grip tight around his arm, the seam of flesh and foreign metal fresh.

But ... it wasn't fresh, was it?

Shiro did not raise his head nor open his eyes, cheek pressed to the cool tile floor. His thoughts were scattered and it was hard to bring them into line, because they were neither coherent or linear, just a jumbled mash of sensations. He squeezed down hard on his arm, hoping that the shock of fresh pain would bright him further out of the past and into the present, and as he did so he heard his cell block open, all the way.

" _No more_ ," Shiro croaked, eyes still squeezed closed.

"Shiro!" the voice was unfamiliar-familiar, and fell in line with the mix of memories that didn't make sense, that existed outside of the witch and her chambers. He didn't have the strength to push himself up yet but he did open his eyes as he felt a soft hand touch his left shoulder. "Shiro, I'm here."

"...Keith?" No, the voice was all wrong. He felt the hand withdraw for a second then touch him again, just as gentle.

"No, Shiro. It's me, Lance."

Shiro squinted up at a person kneeling beside him. The armor and the face was familiar, Lance, yes – it was Lance. He knew Lance. Lance had a large plasma rifle held against his hip, muzzle pointed out toward the cell door, his hand on Shiro's shoulder. "Here's the point where I make a joke about damsels in distress," Lance said. "Except you're not a damsel and you're _really_ in distress, so it's a stupid joke anyway." He put pressure on Shiro's shoulder, and Shiro realized dimly that he was squeezing it. "Do you think you can stand? An entire ship's worth of drone soldiers is about to make our lives very, very difficult."

Standing seemed like such a foreign concept to Shiro he couldn't even vocalize it. Before he could say no, he wasn't able to stand, Lance was pulling on his left arm, yanking him slowly upright. Sitting up the world spun and tilted sideways, and Lance caught him by his right arm, which sent a violent jolt of pain through freshly-built nerve sensors, and Shiro screamed in pain, left hand going to the seam and doubling over so much his forehead was almost touching the floor.

Lance released him and jerked back at the noise, and Shiro panted raggedly, cradling his arm. "Go without me," Shiro said, eyes closed again, slumped forward.

"Yeah, that's not happening," Lance said, and grabbed Shiro by the left arm, yanking him upright and trying to pull him to his feet, Shiro's arm pulled over his shoulder. "Do you have any idea what Keith will do to me if I leave you behind? It's scarier than whatever the Galra are cooking up, let me tell you." He staggered quite a bit once he got upright, because Shiro was anything but light. "C'mon, then."

Shiro raised his head and squinted, right arm dangling limp at his side as Lance slowly maneuvered them to the cell's exit. Across the hall, he saw an empty cell door, blown to smithereens, and a few destroyed drones scattered into pieces in the hallway. "Yeah," Lance said. "The entire population of that cell is going to make a lot of trouble for the drones, and gives us time to get out of here."

"But," Shiro said, head hanging again because he barely had the strength to do one of these things. "The prisoners need to escape...."

"They'll be fine," Lance said, and pulled Shiro down the hall in one direction. "After all, this isn't real, is it?" He kept looking forward. "We're in your memory."

Shiro's entire body shuddered, and Lance kept moving forward, supporting Shiro with as much of his body as he could. "Yeah," Lance said softly at that response. "That's what I thought."

  



	18. Chapter 18

"It looks like a Vertruian memory core," Coran reported, leaning forward above the display console. "At least, superficially. There are many structural differences, and I'm unsure of the significance of the upper portion made to look like a flame-"

"Great," Keith said, still standing in front of the obelisk, hands now on his hips.

"What's a Vertruian memory core?" Hunk asked from over the comm.

"The Vertruians were a race of warrior-scholars," Allura's voice said. "They utilized memory cores to explore all outcomes of a situation, by reliving it over and over. However, their civilization, like many others before them, were destroyed by Zarkon and their technology stolen for his own use."

"Okay," Keith said. "So how do we get Lance and Shiro _out_ of the memory core?"

"That's where things get difficult," Allura said. "We're uncertain how this core has been constructed; it's clearly modeled from Vertruian's systems, but a goodly portion of the writing inscribed is Galran in origin."

"Okay," Pidge said. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the obelisk, arms folded. "So how did the Vertruians get out? It's likely something similar."

"Thank you, Pidge," Allura said, a touch of annoyance slipping through the line. "I was just getting to that. Given that the Vertruians were destroyed thousands of years ago, their records are incomplete at best. We have no information on how people are released from its thrall."

"That's it," Keith said angrily, and stepped forward, hand out.

"Keith!" Pidge said, scrambling to her feet as Keith slapped his hand over the carved runes on the pillar.

Keith lifted his hand, then touched the pillar again. He smacked it with his hands open, flat, over the runes. "What," he said angrily, "the _hell._ " He looked over at Pidge, who had put one hand out as if to stop him, then dropped her arm. "What did Lance do different!?"

"I don't know," she said. "Don't DO that, Keith!"

Keith slapped both his hands on the pillar again, then leaned forward and rested his helmet against it. "Perhaps you should come back to the ship," Allura said. "Eat. Rest a little."

"I'm staying," Keith said without lifting his head from the obelisk.

Pidge sighed and rested her hands on her hips. "Looks like we're gonna be here awhile," she said. "Maybe we should look at trying to move the memory core to the castle-ship?"

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Hunk said. "Clearly it doesn't run off of any electrical or ship systems, so it would just be a matter of finding how deeply set it is into the floor of the room and removing it."

Pidge nodded to herself. "Hunk, could you come down to the ship for me and take a look? Also, you might want to watch out in the main corridor; there are some bodies floating around."

"DEAD bodies?"

" _Hunk._ "

"Okay, okay, I'm coming."

 

* * *

 

Shiro hissed out a pained breath when he pressed the palm of his right hand to the hand print lock outside the door. Lance was still under his left arm, supporting him as well he could, but the pressure against his palm sent electric shock tracing through the false nerves of his artificial hand. His _Galran_ hand.

The door hissed aside and presented them with an empty cabin, some kind of guard's quarters. Lance had shifted forward, the muzzle of his plasma rifle pointed directly in the room in case they surprised someone, but luck was on their side and they hurried through, the door automatically closing and locking behind them. Once inside and away from the repeating siren of a prisoner escape, Lance relaxed slightly, and helped Shiro to one of the chairs left lose around a table.

"Okay," Lance said, still standing. " _Now_ what?"

"Now we wait to get captured again," Shiro said, propping his face against his left hand, elbow on the table as his right arm dangled.

"...what? _No_ ," Lance said. "No, that's a _terrible_ plan."

"It's not a plan," Shiro said, palm pressed to his face. "This is – I _remember_ this. I remember escaping my cell, and they catch me and take me back-" a shudder ran down his back and he didn't complete the thought, instead turning his face into his hand and closing his eyes.

"Yeah, remember what I just said about that being a terrible plan? That's a _terrible_ plan, and we're not doing that."

Shiro lifted his head and looked at Lance, who was standing there still, watching him with some concern. "This is – I don't know how it is you're here, Lance, this is what _happened_..."

"I don't know what's going on here either," Lance said gamely, "but so what if it happened that way? I'm here now, things are going to go _different._ We're going to get you off this ship. What was your original plan?"

"I kept fouling up," Shiro said, and slowly lifted his right arm. "This was slowing me down, because it was new and it _hurt_." He winced a little at raising his arm, and then sighed and dropped it again. He'd been through this before. He'd been through pain _worse_ , when they attached it that first time, to his nerves and sinew. The pain still dragged at him, weakening him considerably and providing a constant distraction. "I intended to get to a pod and try to get away."

"Okay," Lance said. "Get to a pod. That's a do-able goal." He took a step backward, his back to the door as he listened intently to the number of pounding footsteps. "It's a goal we should probably get working on sooner rather than later, because I'm willing to bet they've already secured the exit routes."

"Yes," Shiro said, despair in his voice. "They'll start a door-to-door check soon. Then we'll be discovered, like I was, in the library."

"Shiro," Lance said firmly, and Shiro lifted his face from his hand and looked up at Lance, surprised. "This might be your memory, but you're a paladin of Voltron now. _And_ you've got me with you." He hefted his plasma rifle. "They're not going to be expecting us; and we're getting _off_ this ship."

Shiro stared at Lance. _The door to the library bursting open, several Galrans and too many drone soldiers to count, dragging him by both arms as he nearly sobbed in agony, straight back to her quarters..._ Shiro covered his face with both hands, ignored the pain, elbows planted on the table. "I don't know if I can," he said, still shaking.

Carefully, Lance placed his plasma rifle on the table. "Shiro," he said softly, and touched Shiro's left shoulder with his hand. When Shiro didn't jerk his body away at the touch, Lance leaned a bit into him. "This is properly horrible," he said. "And I can't change what happened, but ... we've got a chance to stop it from happening _again._ " He squeezed Shiro's shoulder and felt him go just a little still, under Lance's hand. "I _will_ get you off this ship."

They both heard the heavy boot steps go running past, then slow up and return to the door where they were hiding. Shiro tensed up, but Lance reached forward and grabbed his plasma rifle. "You've forgotten, things are already different," he said. Shiro lifted his face from his hands, to look at Lance as he arranged himself, muzzle of his rifle pointed directly at the door. "This isn't the library," Lance said, and the door whisked aside.

  



	19. Chapter 19

When Lance got shot, it came as a total surprise.

They had made it through the hallway – Lance took point, with the weapon, although Shiro seemed to have mustered up something, and was using his Galran prosthetic arm to fight despite the obvious agony he was in. Lance leaned back against the bulkhead, panting openly, a path of destruction carved behind them through Galran drone-soldiers.

"Which way to the pods?" Lance asked, as Shiro leaned against the wall beside him, sweat running down his face under the visor of his helmet.

Shiro shook his head once and then gestured vaguely a direction with his left arm. He was doing his level best not to cradle his right against his chest, trying clearly to fight through the pain. "Right," Lance said. "Got it."

He stepped away from the wall to sweep with his weapon when the plasma bolt spun him and he dropped.

It was sudden and surprisingly painless, he was upright one moment and the next he was on his back and staring at the ceiling, stunned, his own weapon fallen from his hands and slid away on the floor. Then the pain hit, lighting up his left side in sheer, surprised agony. "Lance!" Shiro yelled, but Lance couldn't see him at the moment, the only thing existing was the pain.

He heard the return plasma fire even as he clamped his hands down on his side and they came away tacky with burnt flesh and blood. The fact that he'd been shot was so bizarre, what they were experiencing wasn't _real_ ; this was a memory, and Lance had been treating it as such... he hissed as Shiro dropped to one knee beside him, holding Lance's bayard in one hand.

"They shot me," Lance said, voice gone high with surprise and pain.

"Hold on," Shiro said, pushing Lance's hands aside. "It's just a graze, the armor took most of it."

" _Just_ -" Lance gasped, as Shiro peeled aside the part of his suit that was sticking to the wound.

"The plasma bolt cauterizes, it's that hot," Shiro said. "You won't bleed out."

"Goody," Lance said, as Shiro grabbed him by his right arm and started to pull him upright. "Oh, no," Lance said and then bit down on the way his body screamed in agony as the fresh wound was jostled and stretched. "Nope," he said again as Shiro sat him upright against the wall. "Just leave me with the bayard," he said. "The pods are down that way, right? It's just a memory, I'll be fine, we need to get you off this ship."

Shiro said, very plainly, "No."

"Shiro," Lance hissed, as the bayard returned to its shape as a plasma rifle. " _Go_. I'll hold them off, let me be cool for once, okay?"

"This isn't a video game with a reset button," Shiro said, gripping Lance's right arm and firmly hauling him to his feet. Lance gave out a strangled yell and almost went down again, but this time it was Shiro supporting him. "We're getting out of this together," he added.

Lance sagged against Shiro, breathing raggedly. "Anyone ever tell you you're really difficult?" he asked Shiro, as they hurried down the corridor as well they could with Shiro half-carrying, half-dragging Lance.

"My evaluators used to call me 'tenacious,'" Shiro said, head swinging back and forth as he tried to identify which corridor to take. He chose one and they kept moving.

Lance laughed a little, then wheezed in pain, as he swung the rifle on his hip and pointed it behind them. His accuracy suffered trying to shoot the plasma rifle one-handed, but it was still possible to lay down cover fire when a new contingent of the drone soldiers came down the corridor following them, packed tight.

Time passed oddly, Lance noticed. They were in the corridor then they weren't, then they were by pod bay doors. "Don't do this to me," Shiro said to Lance, who blinked at him slowly, unsure what he was talking about. Shiro had his hand on the control door that opened a pod, and Lance realized he was leaning, shoulder in, to the wall beside Shiro.

"Oh," Lance said. "Did we make it?"

"Yeah," Shiro said. The pod opened, lit in fuchsia and magenta, and Shiro shoved Lance in, strapping him in to a seat carefully. "Stay with me, Lance," he said, pressing Lance's bayard back into his hand.

Lance looked down at the bayard in his hand curiously, because he hadn't remembered at what point he dropped it. "I thought you said that it just grazed me," he mumbled, the edges of his vision gone hazy. He was really, _really_ tired.

"You're in shock," Shiro said, dropping into the pilot's seat and flipping switches. "Just hang on with me for a little longer, okay? We're gonna getting out of here."

"Yeah, okay," Lance said, his eyes slipping closed. It was the last thing he remembered.

 

* * *

 

Allura stood in front of the memory core. It had been torn from its spot, rooted into the floor of the Galran ship, and now stood, out of place and foreign, in the middle of the castle-ship's training room. Hunk's lion had carefully carried the obelisk in its mouth, followed by the smaller green lion. Keith had returned the speeders to their lions, the blue and black lions could be recalled by the ship given their proximity, and he had escorted the pilotless lions just to be on the safe side.

The purple obelisk pulsed, slightly. "It is based on Vertruian designs," Coran acknowledged, "but it is definitely Galran in origin."

Allura nodded her head, her hands clasped before her as she watched the lettering light faintly in gold and then fade. The obelisk had started reacting like that while it was in the mouth of Hunk's lion, pulsing every so often, following by certain runes and writing lighting up in sequence and fading. "I'm afraid that there's nothing we can do to speed up the process," she said softly.

Pidge was in the process of hooking up sensors to the monolith. "Maybe it's reacting to Altean technology?" she suggested. "I don't know what runs the memory core, if it isn't a ship's systems or a crystal; it doesn't make any sense."

"They're run off of magic," Allura said, as she stepped forward, her eyes closed and pressed a palm to the covered-surface.

"Right, magic," Pidge said, disbelief evident in her voice. She looked over to Keith, who was the only one still in his paladin armor, having practically thrown himself out of his lion and rushing to the training room and not moving since. Keith had barely said a word since they got back, focused entirely on the obelisk as if he could draw out Lance and Shiro by sheer force of his will alone.

As Allura's palm made contact with the obelisk, it was like an electric current ran through the room. The lettering that had been flashing gold in turn all lit in creamy white and stayed lit. Pidge's eyes got wide, and she looked down at the laptop she had hooked to the memory core, and back up at Allura, as the glow enveloped Allura's arm.

"That's the same-" she said, but it wasn't, not really, because the light that had taken Lance and Shiro had been amber before it grew to bright to look at directly.

Then the monolith pulsed again, and again. "Come free," Allura said, eyes closed and voice magnified. "Children of the stars, release."

A final pulse, with a dazzling light, but as the light faded everyone could hear the impact of bodies hitting the floor. Pidge scrambled to her feet as Hunk moved forward quickly past her, but not as fast as Keith. By the time Pidge's vision had cleared Hunk had Lance scooped up in his arms. "Lance!" Lance's face was ashen under the visor of his helmet, and he wasn't moving.

Keith had Shiro, he was kneeling beside him on the floor. Shiro was laying face down, also still. Allura had been knocked down by the final pulse, but she was sitting upright. "Take them to the medical pods," she said. "Right away!"

  



	20. Chapter 20

There was nothing physically wrong with either of them, Coran had declared, although neither Shiro nor Lance had stirred since being expelled from the memory core. That was worrying enough on its own, but Allura had decided the best course of action would be a night's stay in the medical bay. Keith had originally decided to stay put and observe, but Hunk had picked him up under one arm and said they all needed to eat and rest, and that they could trust in the Altean technology to do its job in the interim.

He wasn't really hungry, but Keith ate because Hunk was watching him. They were all tired, and worried, and there were so many unanswered questions that would bubble up but no one really felt much like talking. Keith sat on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees and stared at his dangling hands. Unable to sleep, really, he put his boots on and slipped out of the pilot's quarters, heading back toward the medical bay.

The doors to the training room were open, and Keith hesitated there. The Galran memory core was still sitting where they had deposited it, garish purple standing out against the clean white of the Altean ship's design. To his surprise, Allura was standing in front of it, her hair unbound and her hands on the column. "Princess," Keith said, automatically, and Allura straightened and dropped her hands as Keith stepped into the room.

"Keith," Allura said, half turning and folding her hands in front of her automatically. "What are you doing up? You should be resting, like the others."

_Can't sleep_ , Keith thought but the words never actually left his mouth. He stared past Allura at the obelisk, felt a sick feeling in the pit of him stomach, something solid and black that didn't have form. "What are you doing?" he asked, and Allura closed her eyes and glanced to the side.

"It's foolish," she admitted. "I was trying to see how to make the core activate. I was able to withdraw Shiro and Lance, and I'm unsure how I knew the proper way to do so."

"You didn't know how?" Keith said, surprised.

"No." She turned back around to look at the obelisk, and Keith stopped a few steps away. "It's like ... it told me what I needed to do, what I had to say. Almost like it is sentient, in and of itself." She touched the pillar again with no hesitation, but the writing scrawled along it did not light up. She closed her eyes and concentrated, and Keith thought he saw a flicker of white along the base of the column. He caught Allura's elbow and tugged her arm gently, and she opened her eyes in surprise as her hand came away from the column.

"It's been a long few days," Keith said. "The memory core isn't going anywhere, Princess. Hunk and Pidge were going to get started on it in the morning, anyway. You should go back to bed."

Allura frowned at him, and Keith released her arm as if suddenly realizing what he was doing. Then she sighed and turned away from the column. "You're right," she said after a moment. However, she didn't move, staring away toward the far wall, before glancing back to Keith. "I meant to ask," she said suddenly, awkwardly, and Keith could _feel_ the tonal shift of her voice. "How is your... heat?"

Keith liked to think he didn't blush too easily, the last week of his life aside, but he was making turning pink into an art form. He forced himself not to look away, even if he couldn't stop the blood from rushing to his cheeks and ears. "I think it's over," he said. "I don't really know how to explain a lot of it, but I need to talk to..." Lance's name stuck in his throat, like he couldn't get it out and he let the sentence lay, incomplete. "I won't let it interfere with out missions again."

Allura's mouth twitched up into a smile, and if anything that made Keith blush more. "I am certain you won't," she said kindly. "But please don't feel that you need to hide any part of yourself from us, Keith. Now, or in the future."

Keith nodded his head, feeling just as awkward by the moment. Allura yawned suddenly, covering her mouth quickly with one hand. "Goodness," she said when she finished. "I think I will excuse myself to sleep. You should do the same," she added, glancing at the memory core again suspiciously, as if thinking that Keith was coming here to do the same thing that she was. "It will be morning before we know it, and I am sure Shiro and Lance both will need all of our support."

"Yes," Keith said, as he started to follow Allura from the training room. He hesitated only a moment as he saw a flicker of color from the corner of his eye -- and when he glanced back at the memory core he swore he saw a hint of gold color in some of the runes, but when he blinked his eyes it didn't appear to be there. A trick of the light? "Goodnight princess," he said as Allura headed off down the corridor to the royal chambers.

She waved a hand but didn't look back at him, and Keith touched his hand to the door plate that closed the doors to the training room, leaving the corridor lit only by the dim glow of the track lighting.

 

* * *

 

Hunk found Keith sleeping against Lance's medical pod, his arms folded and his chin to his chest, legs stretched out as far as they could and the tip of his boot brushing Shiro's medical pod. "Aw," Pidge said, peeking around Hunk's side. "That's _adorable._ "

"Shh," Hunk hissed, as Pidge aimed her phone at the scene. "You'll wake him."

"Probably." That didn't stop Pidge from taking a few pictures, and the quick click of the shutter on her device did make Keith stir a little, head rolling on what had to be a very stiff neck. Pidge had her phone safely squirreled away by the time Keith lifted his head and blinked gummy eyes, squinting at the fact that the lights had gone from running the much-dimmer night cycle to the brighter day one.

"Good morning," Hunk said cheerily, and Keith's gaze swept over to the doorway. He blinked a few times, clearly processing and then woke up all at once, flailing fully upright.

"Jeez," Pidge said, as she walked over to the pods and looked at the diagnostic displays. "Did you sleep here all night, Keith?"

" _No_ ," Keith croaked, his voice off. He cleared his throat a bit and climbed to his feet, stretching his arms over his head. "No," he said again, and rotated his shoulder.

"Uh-huh," Hunk didn't sound like he believed Keith at all but wasn't going to challenge him on it.

"Their vitals seem good," Pidge said. "Allura wanted them in these things until lunchtime, but I think I'm going to spring them early." She started pressing buttons on the front of Shiro's pod.

"Hey, wait a sec," Hunk said. "I thought we just came here to pick up Keith and make sure he wasn't sleeping in front of Shiro's pod." Hunk gave Keith a sidelong look, and Keith refused to look back at him, instead leaning over Pidge's shoulder and watching her puzzle out the controls.

"Yeah, well, I'm going rogue on this one," she said, and pressed one final button. The pod dinged, and she took a step back as it hissed, and then caught Keith's arm and pulled him a step back as well. The medical pod hummed for a moment, then the front shielding sliding aside.

There was a long moment of silence, then Shiro groaned and touched his forehead with one hand, before cracking open his eyes. Keith let out a breath that he hadn't even realized he'd been holding, Pidge's hand still on his arm and keeping him in place with a simple touch.

"Shiro," Keith said, and Shiro looked up and focused on him, like it took a moment to return himself to the present.

"Keith," he said, and there was an undercurrent to his voice that just felt _right_ , and Keith could relax again. Shiro's eyes lingered for a moment, then flickered down to Pidge beside Keith, and his face shifted into something normal again. "Pidge," he said, and looked up to see Hunk a little behind them. "Hunk." Shiro looked around again, his brow furrowed and then a sudden worry. "Where's Lance?"

"I haven't woken him up yet," Pidge said, as Shiro staggered forward, out of the pod. Keith put out his arms out of reflex and caught Shiro against himself, braced just enough so that he could take his weight. Shiro held on to him for a moment, arm looped over Keith's shoulder and prosthetic hand gripping Keith's shoulder tightly, before he could straighten under his own power. He didn't remove his arm right away, though.

"Where is he?" Shiro said, as he looked back and then saw the other medical pod. Pidge had pulled up the controls on it and now Shiro stepped away from Keith, going to the pod and putting his hand on it, peering down at Lance inside. Pidge looked up at him as he stared down into it, and then sighed in relief. "He wasn't shot when we came out of it, was he?" It was more a statement than a question, directed at Pidge.

" _Shot_?" Hunk squeaked.

Pidge shook her head. "You two were entirely intact, just out cold."

Shiro sighed again in relief, then nodded. "Lance got _shot_?" Hunk said again, and Shiro looked back toward him, and Keith, then looked back to the pod.

"It was my fault," he said, and stepped back from the pod. Pidge continued to type away at the controls, then Lance's pod made the same soft chime and opened. Lance tilted forward, eyes still closed and Keith moved forward without thinking, but Shiro stepped in front of him and caught Lance before he could pitch face first into the floor. Hunk and Keith crowded behind Shiro as Lance clung to his arm and groaned.

"Lance?" Shiro said. "You all right?"

"I feel like Hunk sat on me," Lance mumbled, then opened his eyes and squinted past Shiro's bicep at Keith. "Oh," he said, and turned pink.

"Hey!" Hunk said, injured.

"I think Lance is okay," Pidge said. She smacked Lance's side, because he was staring at Keith still, eyes wide like he had been caught out at something. "Okay, come on," she said. "I bet you two need to clean up and refresh. Hunk and I will start breakfast."

Keith's eyes had gone from Lance's face to Shiro's. He'd noticed the smell right away, although it was fainter than he expected; probably because his heat had finally ended. Shiro had clearly noticed it, the muscles in his jaw were tight. Keith put his hand on Shiro's shoulder, even as Lance finally pulled himself fully to his feet, face still flushed pink.

"That sounds like a fine idea, Pidge," Shiro said, his voice remarkably level. Hunk had noticed too, Keith thought, because he was staring at Shiro as well. "I'm absolutely starving."

"Yeah," Lance said. "I feel like I could eat an entire horse. Hunk You better bring your 'A' game, where that goo is concerned." He inhaled and held it, then smirked at Hunk. Hunk eyed him with suspicion, then stepped closer and peered at Lance.

"An _entire_ horse?" he said.

"Don't test me," Lance retorted, and shoved Hunk with one hand.

In response Hunk immediately hugged Lance and said loudly, "I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY."

Everyone laughed in relief as Lance struggled a bit in Hunk's embrace and finally went limp.

 

* * *

 

The door to Lance's room was unlocked, it parted instantly when Keith put his hand on the pad outside. It was a bit presumptuous to let himself in without knocking, but Keith had spent a good few minutes standing outside the door trying to decide what he was going to do, so he wasn't going to let himself get turned away by Lance telling him to go.

He had walked Shiro to the showers, trying to get him to talk but he had been mostly quiet. He didn't shrink away from Keith's touch, and had looped his arm over Keith's shoulder and pressed a kiss to the side of his head before disappearing into the locker room. With his heat over, Keith hadn't felt the almost maddening urgency to push Shiro against the wall and kiss him, to climb on him and do things that shouldn't really be thought about it public, but he still wanted... he still _wanted_ , and it burned more fiercely than it had.

Shiro was distracted by Lance's scent, and it _bothered_ him. He wasn't going to be jealous, he _wasn't_ , but he lingered outside of Lance's room and finally just let himself in. They needed to talk, anyway. At least, that's what he told himself.

The lights were on in full in Lance's room. He'd been sitting on the bed, clearly, his legs over the side but he'd flopped over backwards and both his arms were folded over his face. Keith stood awkwardly as the door closed behind him, and then the scent washed over him and he realized, _oh_. This was how Lance had known _he_ was in heat.

God, he hoped the others couldn't smell that.

"What do you want," Lance said, voice tired, without lifting his arms from his face. "You do know knocking is an option, right? This is my room, mostly."

"Are you all right?" Keith asked.

Lance let out a low laugh, but it didn't sound healthy. "Yeah, the suppressants haven't kicked in yet, I missed one because of all this and that's fucked everything up." He sighed and shifted, clearly uncomfortable.

He had come to talk, Keith reminded himself. All the same, he felt his heart beating in his throat, remembering the way Shiro had been looking down at Lance in his arms, and felt the strangest, fiercest pull. "Do you want me to help?" he asked finally.

"If I say no, will you go away?" Lance still hadn't moved his arms off his face. Keith walked over to the bed, and looked down at Lance.

"No," he said. "I won't touch you if you say no, but I'm not going to go." He sat down on the edge of the mattress next to Lance and let out a long sigh, then leaned back on his hands.

They sat in silence for a little while, Lance's breathing coming harder than before. Finally he let out a low noise and lifted his arms, face flushed red from his chin to his hairline. "Why can't you just pick Shiro?" he said finally. "Why do you have to keep confusing me with all this, I don't _want_ this!"

"I _have_ picked Shiro," Keith said, surprised at how calmly the words came out. Lance's face crumpled weirdly, like he hadn't been expecting Keith to say that, despite the words that had come out of his own mouth. Keith twisted a little, weight braced on one hand so he could look Lance full in the face. He leaned over Lance and stared down at him, his flushed face and distraught expression. "But," he said softly, "I also picked you."

"... _what?_ " Lance said.

"I had a lot of time to think, last night," Keith said. He touched Lance's face softly with his fingers, brow furrowed with the importance of the message he was delivering. "I decided I'm not going to choose, that's stupid. I like you both."

If Lance turned any more red, Keith was worried he'd burst a blood vessel. "B-but you _gotta_ ," he said. "You have to! That's the way these things _work_ -" he gestured one hand in the air off to one side, but Keith didn't look away.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because you _gotta-"_

"Why?" Lance let out a frustrated noise as Keith lowered his head more, eyes narrowed. "Do you not want me?" he asked, and the frustrated noise went strangled.

"Of _course_ I do-"

"Then this is the best solution, don't you think?" Keith's nose was practically brushing Lance's.

Lance was breathing very hard. "Oh, _fuck_ me," he said, and surged up the little bit to close the distance between their mouths.

Keith hadn't entirely been expecting it, he had planned it that _he_ would kiss Lance while Lance was still lying back on the bed, and as a result their teeth clicked together and foreheads cracked against each other. "Ow, _shit_ ," Keith said, as Lance's head thumped back into the bed and he whined, palm going to his forehead.

"That wasn't _nearly_ as sexy as I thought it was going to be in my head," Lance said, petulantly.

"Do you still not want any help?" Keith asked, putting one hand on Lance's chest. His skin was so warm, even through the thin material of the shirt he was wearing. "Because this is the last time I'm offering before I go see what everyone else is doing."

"Did you not hear me say 'fuck me'?" Lance said.

Keith's eyebrows lifted. "I thought you were just..." he said, and then paused. "Really?"

Lance let out a very frustrated noise. He shoved at Keith, who sat all the way back up, and then lifted his hips up off the bed. "Whoa," Keith said, as Lance shoved his pants down his hips and thighs and then got himself tangled up around his ankles. "Whoa, Lance, there's this thing called foreplay-" Keith said, as Lance got his pants off one ankle.

"I'm in _heat_ ," Lance snarled. "The suppressants haven't kicked in again, and if you aren't going to put your dick in my ass I'll find something else to-" He was cut off as Keith caught one of Lance's flailing wrists and pulled him to Keith, so that Keith could actually kiss him properly. Lance struggled a moment then stopped, his unrestricted hand going to Keith's head and his fingers tangling in Keith's dark hair.

"You didn't want to before," Keith said. "Are you sure...?"

"Can we not psychoanalyze this?" Lance asked. "Can you just help me out, here?"

Keith caught Lance by the back of the head, kept him close. "You freaked out on me before," he said. "I don't want to hurt you, Lance. I-" he couldn't say the rest yet, and his face turned pink.

Lance closed his eyes and leaned forward enough that their foreheads rested together. "It was my first time," he said softly. "Since ... since then." He was quiet, eyes closed tight, reliving something that made Keith want to pull someone's scrotum through their nostrils. Lance opened his eyes slowly. "You won't hurt me," he said. "I know what I'm asking for."

He took one deep breath, then two. "I've never," Keith started to say, and Lance kissed him quiet, falling back onto the bed and pulling Keith down on top of him.

 

* * *

 

Keith's hand was warm, but not as warm as Lance's skin. He felt like his blood was boiling, as Keith's hand traveled higher, rucking up the hem of the loose white shirt Lance was still wearing. His fingers were exploring slowly, his mouth on Lance's erection, the fingers of his other hand spreading him open. There were so many other things he should be thinking about right now, things to unpack and go over in his mind but right now it was all Keith; Keith's hands, Keith's mouth, Keith's fingers.

Lance kept one hand over his mouth, clamped tight, the other was on Keith's head, holding him there. He wanted to surge up off the bed, thrust himself into Keith's mouth again and again until he choked but the fingers inside of him made his knees tremble too much to get him leverage up off the bed. He wanted more, and he knew that Keith knew that he wanted more, and now he was just being a dick about it and stringing him along until he came again.

_Keith picked him._

That was a thought that did rattle around. Yes, Keith picked Shiro too but he actually, honestly, wanted Lance too? It was a feeling he'd been circling for a week now, too big and bright for him to really take it all in.

Keith's fingers reached _something_ , and even the hand over his mouth couldn't keep the noise in his throat. Lance came hard, and Keith kept his mouth on him, _swallowing._ "Fuck," Lance almost sobbed. It was his third orgasm, and he was shaking because he needed something more than fingers.

Keith licked up the side of his still-hard cock. "How many times did you make me come in the shower?" he asked conversationally, as if he wasn't cleaning Lance's cock like a cat.

Lance panted to the ceiling, recalling the image of Keith sprawled out of his lap, cock constantly leaking fluid onto the wet tile floor in the showers. "I don't remember," he lied.

"Mm," Keith said. He shifted a little and pulled his fingers free. "We really should use a condom," he said as he got up on his knees, pushing Lance's thighs back and exposing his wet hole. He didn't seem interested in moving though, staring down at Lance like he was captivated.

"You can't get me pregnant if that's what you're worried about," Lance said.

Now Keith's brows came together again. "I didn't even think about that," he said.

"Well, omegas generally can't get other omegas pregnant so we're fine." Lance wiggled a little. "This position is embarrassing, can't you do something, or are you just gonna stare?"

Keith used his thumbs to spread Lance's hole just a bit. "Are you sure?" he said. "I can still ride you, I don't mind-"

"Are you scared?" Lance said. "I mean, if you're scared it's cool, but you realize you're never not going to be the bottom again if you admit to it-"

"Oh god just shut _up_ ," Keith said, pressing his hips against Lance, and dragging his cock through the fluid that had run down his crack. Lance did, thankfully, shut up at the sensation of Keith's cock prodding at him, and when Keith looked back up at him, his expression was unreadable.

He kept his eyes on Lance's, and went by feel. Watching the strange expression melt into something else entirely as the head of Keith's cock slipped in was a little bit amazing, and even more so as he sank into the warm, wet heat.

Lance closed his eyes and bit his lip, then moaned something reverently that Keith didn't really understand but recognized as content. His legs came up and hugged Keith's hips, holding him in place. "Okay?" Keith asked finally, his own chest heaving at the sight of Lance blissed out beneath him. Sweat traced down the back of his neck and his tee shirt stuck to him. If he'd thought more about it, he would have pulled it off sooner.

"Yeah," Lance said finally, and opened his eyes to meet Keith's. " _Yeah_." And then he grinned, and Keith was absolutely dazzled by that expression on his face, and felt like the most ridiculous thing ever when he returned the grin, and they were both grinning stupidly at each other until Lance smacked his thigh with one hand and groaned, "fucking _fuck_ me already, god-" and Keith had to remember yeah, yeah that's what they were supposed to be doing here, after all.

 

* * *

 

"This goo is pink," Lance said, eying the plate of goo that Hunk put in front of him.

"You were _late_ to _breakfast_ ," Hunk said sharply.

Lance looked up at Hunk absolutely shamelessly. "Something _really_ important came up," he said, and leaned out of elbow-digging room before Keith could elbow him. " _Really_ important."

"I bet it did," Pidge muttered from the end of the table. "I bet it came up repeatedly."

Lance really couldn't decide if Shiro choking on his mouth full of food or Keith turning as red as his favorite jacket was his favorite part of that meal, so he stuck a spoon filled with wobbly pink good in his mouth and grinned.

  



	21. Chapter 21

Keith seemed to have moved into Lance's room properly now. Not that anyone had much by way of belongings, but every time Lance popped in to his quarters Keith was already there; sitting on the floor sharpening his knife, sitting at the desk (when did he get a _desk?_ ) poring over readouts in script that Lance couldn't read even if he tilted his head, or his absolute favorite was to find Keith curled up in the middle of _his_ bed, wrapped up in _his_ covers and drooling on _his_ pillow.

They weren't even going to discuss that time he found Keith sleeping under the covers with his boots on. _With his boots on._ Absolutely _savage._ Lance had rolled him out of bed, dumped the sheets in the chute that opened from the wall and pulled the fresh sheets he had found in a drawer out, all without saying a word to Keith who sat on the floor with a sleepy, puzzled expression.

Despite Keith saying that he also 'chose' Shiro, he never seemed to take over _Shiro's_ quarters. Lance snorted to himself as he stalked down the corridor, hands jammed in the pockets of his jeans as he sulked. He didn't _mind_ Keith in his space, it was comforting, but ... he still hadn't figured himself out. Lance stalked past the final room in the corridor and then hesitated and spun on his heel. Shiro's room was the last (or the first, depending on which direction you were coming from), and despite his nominal status as team leader it was pretty much identical to everyone else's quarters.

He had been avoiding Shiro for the better part of two days. It was kinda shitty for him to do, and Lance would be the first to admit it, but a _lot_ had happened in a short time frame and, well... he was in heat. It was waning by now, he wouldn't even need his suppressant tomorrow, he'd be in the clear and not feel as on-edge as he had been. Lance raised a hesitant hand, then felt silly and knocked confidentially on the outer door.

"It's open, Lance," Shiro's voice came from inside, slightly out of breath. Lance turned pink as the doors opened to allow him in, only to see Shiro doing push-ups on the floor. He hesitated, mid-push, his head turned to the door to verify Lance's identity, before he turned his face and attention back to what he was doing.

"How did you _know_ ," Lance said, hands shoved into his jeans and shoulders held tight.

"Could smell you," Shiro said, and didn't stop.

"My heat's almost _over_ ," Lance said. "Plus, with the suppressants you shouldn't be able to smell anything, that's half the point of the stupid things!" The doors hissed closed behind him, and Lance felt his heart jump a little but forced the calm into his voice.

Shiro stopped his pushups and hiked himself to his feet. Lance could still smell him, just a bit – but he wasn't certain how much of that was the sweat in the air versus his sensitivity to alphas during a heat. "I've always been able to smell you," Shiro said finally, and picked up the water bottle that was sitting on his desk. Lance frowned at the desk, he swore he didn't remember having a desk but now everyone seemed to have one, and that bothered him. Shiro turned around and leaned his weight against it. "Keith too. I can smell everyone, Pidge, Hunk... even the princess, and Coran."

"Even the mice?" Lance asked facetiously, and Shiro's brow furrowed as he thought about that, and Lance held up a hand. "Wait, you can smell _all_ of us? Hunk's not an omega, and I don't think Pidge has even presented-"

"I'm not..." Shiro's left hand touched his arm, and almost automatic, unconscious gesture. "I'm not a normal alpha," he said after he had collected himself. "Not anymore."

"All this time, you could smell me." Lance shook his head and folded his arms. Then, Shiro's words seemed to sink in and he raised his eyes to Shiro's face quickly, but Shiro wasn't looking at him, exactly... he was looking away, through the bulkhead of the ship and into something that only he could see. "I should have come by sooner," he said. "To see if you were okay."

Now Shiro did look at him, surprised. "You don't need to do that."

"Yeah, I do," Lance said, and took a step forward, toward Shiro. "That was _hellish_ , Shiro, and you lived through it not once but _twice._ It's not something just shrugged off and away!"

Shiro stared at him for a long while, then looked away. "What do you want me to do?" he said quietly.

"I don't know," Lance gestured helplessly. "You can't just bottle this shit up, though, it'll fucking wreck you. I know that much, at least."

This time the silence held for a longer time, Shiro with his arms folded too, head down. He seemed to be steadying himself, and he looked up at Lance and met his eye. "I almost got you killed, Lance."

Lance patted his side. He wasn't going to lie, when he thought about that moment, and the sudden pain and the shock of staring at the ceiling when he had been on his feet moments before, it made him actually, physically _ill_ , but -- "You didn't almost get me killed," he said. "That wasn't your fault."

"It was _my_ memory-"

"Shiro, it wasn't your fault." Lance inhaled. "I know you know that, even if you don't believe it." He watched Shiro process this, and then discard it. He sighed and put his hands on his hips. "I can't _make_ you talk about this," he said. "So I'll tell you what I originally came here to say, and that's that it looks like Keith has officially taken over my room, so if you need him for whatever you'll find him there."

Lance did not expect for Shiro to turn pink at this information. "Everything smells like him now, it's driving me up the wall but my heat's almost over so then it won't be so bad." Lance shuddered a little and rubbed his hands up and down his arms.

One side of Shiro's mouth had tugged up into a soft grin. "Keith likes you very much," he said, and Lance almost missed the undertone there.

"Yeah, it would be better if he didn't start sleep-humping me moaning your name," Lance muttered, and yeah, if he had any doubts about Shiro turning pink now he had turned a nice, cherry-red. Keith's color, almost, Lance thought, amused. "I don't know why he doesn't just crawl into your bed when he's like that, it would solve the rest of the problems."

Now Shiro straightened from the desk, draining the water bottle and avoiding Lance's gaze entirely. "He's made his choice," he said. "I'm going to the showers, it's been a long day-"

"Wait, wait," Lance held up both his hands and Shiro stopped just shy of running into Lance. He was clearly surprised that Lance hadn't moved aside. "He chose _me_?"

Shiro gave him a puzzled look. "He's sleeping in your bed, isn't he?"

"Oh, god," Lance said, and rubbed his forehead. "That fucking moron." Shiro was giving him another puzzled expression and Lance gestured back toward the door wildly. "He said he wasn't giving up on you! Did he not walk the, what, thirty feet to your door and explain this too?"

Shiro shook his head wordlessly and Lance let out a very loud and angry groan. "I'm going to kill him. I can't believe he was going to let _you_ think that. I'm going to march right back down there and kick the sense into his pointy omega head-"

" _Lance_ ," Shiro said, and touched Lance's shoulder. Lance abruptly stopped moving altogether, held frozen by the touch. "If Keith didn't tell me, he may have had good reason to. Let him talk to me on his own time, okay? Don't force this."

Lance didn't move, he could hardly think. Shiro's hand, his false, Galran hand was resting on his shoulder and it felt as warm and solid as a real hand, maybe just a bit heavier. But Shiro was close enough to touch him, and Lance's stomach had curled into a little ball, and he was finding the idea of breathing somewhat difficult. "Lance?" Shiro leaned in just a little, and Lance went ramrod-straight. "Are you all right...?"

There was a moment of absolute stillness, with Shiro way too close and Lance's heart beating way too hard, and then Shiro's eyes widened just a bit and he moved back a step, yanking his hand back from Lance's shoulder like he had been scalded. "Sorry," he said suddenly. "I forgot, you're still in heat, I wasn't even thinking..."

Lance very slowly wet his lips and tried not to think about the fact that something in him was hoping that Shiro had leaned in closer and kissed him. Shiro was the only alpha on board, of _course_ he'd have those kind of thoughts occasionally, especially now – especially with Shiro staring hard at him, his false hand reaching out again, this time to cup Lance's jaw, to run a suspiciously-warm thumb over his lips and leaning in...

_Shiro was going to kiss him._

And Lance was going to _let_ him.

_It's the heat,_ Lance thought, a little dizzy. Sure he was almost through it, but – this was a mistake, coming alone to an alpha's quarters, he would let an alpha do _anything_ to him right now, suppressants be damned – and then Shiro's mouth was brushing his, slow and careful and almost chaste. It was almost disappointing, and Lance grabbed Shiro by the front of the shirt, soaked with sweat and wanted to show him how to _really_ kiss.

It was a good few minutes before Lance came back to himself, grinding against Shiro's thigh and his hands clenching tight in the fabric of Shiro's shirt, stretched tight over his shoulders. It felt like Shiro had his tongue halfway down Lance's throat, and both his hands were holding Lance's head still as they kissed.

Lance shoved Shiro back with both hands, panting loudly and so very, obviously turned on. " _Fuck_ ," Lance gasped and dragged his hand over his mouth. They stared at each other wildly, and Lance said, his voice wobbly. "New rule; no touching while I'm in heat."

"Yeah," Shiro said, and nodded his head. "That's a good rule, that's a very good rule."

"Yeah," Lance said, and nodded his head too. They continued to stare at each other, chests heaving. "I'm going to go," Lance said finally, and Shiro nodded his head again, and Lance backed to the door, finding the door controls blindly and when they opened he stumbled backward through them and escaped down the corridor toward his own room.

 

* * *

 

When Lance stumbled through the door, Keith was sitting at the desk, a small globe illuminated on the display screen. He looked over at Lance, who was beet red and panting like he'd just run a marathon. "What's wrong with _you_?" Keith asked, as Lance started unbuckling his belt.

"I'm so fucking hard right now," Lance said hurriedly. "Will you suck me? I'll just jerk off otherwise-"

Keith stared at Lance, and Lance almost tripped himself shuffling forward and shoving one hand down into his underwear. "You're serious," he said, eyes wide. "Is this going to happen often on your heats...?"

"God, shut _up_ ," Lance hissed as Keith rose out of the chair and dropped to his knees in front of Lance. He started as Keith pulled his underwear down the rest of the way and gave a low whistle of appreciation at how hard his dick was, and how much it had already leaked.

"Suppressant or not you get more boners than anyone I've ever seen," Keith said. "I'm going to have to start keeping track, I'm gonna want full reciprocity for this." Lance grabbed a hand full of his hair and Keith actually laughed. "You want it rough, then?"

Lance doubled over Keith as Keith took care of him, and when he hissed out Shiro's name at the climax he could only hope that Keith was far too busy to hear him.

  



	22. Chapter 22

Keith _had_ heard.

When he left the room finally, he'd left Lance dozing on top of the covers on the bed, curled on his side and a content expression on his face. He had intended, as he stood outside the room, to go find Shiro and find out what had happened that made Lance so hard he came running back to the room begging to be serviced. The thought of what he'd done without even thinking made Keith's cheeks turn a little pink, but they were a _thing_ now, and besides, he liked it if only because he got a front-row seat for the moment when the smug was wiped completely off of Lance's face for a few seconds.

Shiro wasn't in his room. Keith walked by the training room, to see Pidge seated cross-legged in front of the memory core, a laptop balanced on her lap and surrounded by a rat's nest of wires. He knew better than to disturb _that_ , so he checked the galley and the bridge before heading toward the showers.

He could hear the showers going from the locker room, and found Shiro's clothes and towel laying on one of the benches. He _could_ wait here, that would be the logical, sane thing to do – but Keith pushed through the door to the showers, still fully dressed.

Shiro was in one of the stalls near the front of the row; he had both palms flat on the way and head ducked under the spray so that the water ran down his head and the back of his neck. Keith felt his heart jump into his throat, but didn't leave. Instead he walked to the stall that Shiro was standing in and stood in the row behind it, waiting to be noticed.

It took a while. Shiro groaned and turned his face under the spray, lifted his left hand, his real flesh hand and ran it down his chest, his belly and lower and Keith's eyes widened a bit. He hadn't really had a chance to see, yet – they'd showered together but he'd always made an effort not to look or stare openly, it was a well-known fact that alphas were decently endowed, a blessing in the genes – but now Keith _did_ let his eyes wander, following the path of Shiro's trailing hand until he brushed it over the root of his cock, already standing at attention.

"Wow," Keith breathed, despite himself and Shiro jerked, yanking his head out from under the spray and half-turning, eyes wide and surprised. Keith took a step back, away from the active shower but his eyes still drawn to Shiro's body, his warm, erect cock showing few signs of diminishing.

" _Keith?_ " Shiro said, strangled, his voice echoing on the tile. "What are you _doing_ here-?" His hand went to his cock as if to try to hide it from view, but at that size, erect, the only thing he could really do was grip the shaft helplessly.

"I was looking for you," Keith said, and reluctantly tore his eyes from the sight that greeted him between Shiro's legs and dragged it up to the vicinity of Shiro's eyes. "I was a little worried at... the way Lance came back to the room, did you...?" _Did you do anything to him, he wouldn't tell me but he moaned your name when he came in my mouth._ Seeing Shiro like this was making him ache in other ways, too.

Shiro's face was red, from the hot water or the arousal it was impossible to tell for certain. He licked his lips as he stared at Keith, and said hoarsely, "I kissed him."

"You kissed ... Lance?"

Shiro nodded his head, and had the temerity to look abashed. "I shouldn't have, but he looked so ..." he gestured with his false hand, his Galran hand. "And I did."

Keith took a step forward, toward Shiro's shower stall, and then another. His eyes were on Shiro's, and Shiro stared at him with a hungry edge. They weren't going to, not here, but Shiro's expression was sending tingles down his spine. "Are you gonna kiss me now?" Keith asked, resting one hand on the semi-transparent door.

Shiro's hand, dripping wet, the left one, the one that had just been on his _cock_ touched Keith's face, brushed back into his hair. Keith tilted his head back as Shiro leaned down and he accepted the kiss, all of it, pushing up on his toes against the barrier so that Shiro didn't have to lean down as far.

His mouth was hot and wanting, made moreso by the steam of the shower. Keith gasped against Shiro's mouth, even as Shiro's prosthetic hand undid the latch on the tiny excuse for a door, letting it swing inwards and drawing Keith just that step closer. He was going to get _soaked,_ but he couldn't imagine caring about it as Shiro's Galran hand did all the work, unbuckling his pants and feeling him through his underwear, drawing his own erection out and then taking another step forward so that their bodies crushed together.

Shiro's cock was huge next to his, large and twitching. Keith didn't have to look down as Shiro wrapped them both in the fingers of his false hand and began to stroke, hard and fast. It was dazzling, this sensation; the water still carrying the warmth of the shower, of Shiro's body as it soaked into his shirt and pants.

Keith gasped, unable to hold it for very long. He felt his body convulse, felt Shiro's hand tighten and then he could feel Shiro's cock twitch and contract. Shiro kept kissing him as his own come splattered between them, soaking into the front of Keith's shirt.

" _Shiro_ ," Keith said, and Shiro kept kissing him; the sound of the water hitting the tile the only other sound aside from their panting breaths.

 

* * *

 

When Keith got back to his room he shoved his water-and-fluids soaked clothing in the laundry chute. They'd appear, completely clean in a few hours; he had learned this from prior experience. Then he looked over to the bed, only to see that Lance who had been curled into a ball when he left had somehow transmogrified into a starfish. His limbs were flopped out in every direction, head back and snoring through an open mouth.

"For fuck's sake," Keith muttered as he climbed onto the bed and bullied Lance into a less spread-out sleeping posture. His blood was still electric in his veins, and all he could think about was the expression on Shiro's face, brows drawn together in concentration, his mouth open just a little as he came, hand tight on the both of them. Keith's face was red, but he buried it in the back of Lance's neck, putting his arm over Lance's side and pulling him back against Keith.

He expected some form of resistance – but he didn't expect Lance to melt back against him and hum a happy, sleepy tune of contentment before drifting off again.

Keith inhaled a little, and smiled against Lance's neck. Now, if only he could requisition a bed big enough for all three of them...

 

* * *

 

"The moon of Eaphus?" Keith repeated, standing between Lance and Shiro, his arms folded. Allura stood on the other side of the three-dimensional starmap, shrunk down to show one particular binary star system, full of half a dozen planets of varying size.

"Yes," Allura touched the starmap with her fingers and it zoomed in further, on a gas giant that quickly filled the portion of the map they were zoomed in on. "It was a particular favorite of Father's, when the paladins needed to rest and rejuvenate themselves." She looked up and looked at Shiro in particular, who met her gaze evenly and did not blanch and look away like Lance or Keith did.

"So it's not a mission," Shiro said. "It's a vacation."

"I wouldn't call it a _vacation_ ," Coran corrected from his position at the forward of the bridge. "There's much training to be done, there! Your current training and teamwork will really be put to the test!"

"That doesn't sound very much like a vacation to _me_ ," Lance muttered, and Keith elbowed him.

"What _kind_ of training?" Pidge asked, and Coran didn't turn around or answer her, and Pidge and Lance exchanged eyebrow-raised glances.

"We don't need a vacation," Shiro said firmly. "There's too much that still needs to be done before we can even think about some r & r."

"Hey man, speak for yourself," Lance said, leaning forward. "I am _all_ about some shore leave." He looked at Allura, on the other side of the map. "So what kind of planet is Eaphus, anyway, what kind of vacation are we talking about?"

"Eaphus is a gas giant," Keith said. "Weren't you listening?"

"The _moon_ of Eaphus has sustainable atmosphere to oxygen-breathing humanoids," Coran said. "It is a volcanic planet, dense in mineral-rich soil."

"Oh, a volcano planet. That sounds like a good time," Lance said sarcastically.

"Lance," Shiro said, then addressed Allura. "If it's what you think is best, Princess."

Allura nodded her head. "We'll arrive there in about a week's time, without using wormholes. It's safer, I feel, not to attract a lot of attention."

"I agree," Shiro said, and nodded. "In the meantime, we need to get back to training. As a _team_ ," he added, before anyone could sneak off. "We've been really lax as of late, with everything that's been going on, and we need to rectify that." He cast his glance over the other paladins, who were all looking at him. "After breakfast, I expect everyone to report to the training room. _In uniform_."


	23. Chapter 23

Pidge sat on the floor in front of the memory core. She had wanted the thing moved to the green lion's hanger, where she had set up a nest of monitors and wires and various computer systems, but it had been a nightmare enough getting it to the training room, so in the training room the memory core stayed. She'd lugged up most of her equipment and now sat, monitors on either side of her and a bevy of wires and other calibration devices ensconcing the pillar.

Trying to find some measurable scale with which to further delve into the inner workers of the memory core was proving utterly futile; and every now and then Allura would check in on her and say something patronizing about magic that set Pidge's teeth on edge. There was _no such thing as magic;_ just things science had yet to explain!

"What the heck are you trying to do over here, anyway?" Lance said, and Pidge looked up from her data and blinked owlishly.

The others had been using the training room to work out and spar, which Pidge knew she should be involving herself in – but _mystery pillar with mysteries to crack_ _–_ but she'd been so involved that she'd clearly forgotten. She looked up at Lance, who was wearing a black tee shirt that was a little too loose on him, and frowned. "Trying to figure out if this thing will be any use to us," she said, and hit a few keys. "What did you do to trigger it?"

"I didn't do anything," Lance said hotly. "I only touched it!" He wiped his hand back along his forehead into his hair, still breathing a little hard. "It was lighting up, remember?"

"Only you saw that," Pidge muttered mostly under her breath. "Could you touch it for me again? I want to measure any readings it might give off."

" _Hell_ no!"

She shrugged. "It's for science?"

"No, Pidge." Lance shook his head. "Not in a million years."

Pidge squinted at Lance. "Are you wearing Keith's shirt?"

" _NO_ ," Lance said a little loudly. " _Keith_ is wearing Keith's shirt, this was just in the drawer in our room! The ship provides shit, remember?"

"'Our' room?" Pidge repeated with a wicked grin, pushing her glasses up her nose.

Lance opened his mouth and shut it a few times, doing a marvelous impression of a fish at feeding time. "That's dirty pool," he muttered, then inclined his head. "Shiro wants us to work on defensive maneuvers, and that means all of us."

"All right, all right," she said. "Give me a few to finish up this program so it can run without supervision, and I'll be right over."

 

* * *

 

Lance and Hunk were standing off to one side of the training mat, half watching what was occuring on the mat, half watching the chrono on Hunk's phone pad. Pidge watched Shiro and Keith spar for a good ninety seconds – Shiro had Keith in a headlock, currently, but somehow Keith wriggled out of it and they kept going – before looking at Hunk's phone. "What time?"

"They've been at it for eleven minutes now," Hunk said, impressed and a little bit scared.

Pidge shrugged and watched them wrestle for another minute longer, before looking over at Lance. "So," she said, a grin spreading slowly. "Is that what it's like between you and Keith in bed? I figure it would be over by now-"

"Oh god, _stop talking_ ," Lance said, and turned red.

Hunk looked up from his timekeeping to look at Lance, then to the wrestling on the mat, where Keith had gotten Shiro's human arm twisted behind him but wasn't holding it well. "Are you imagining them, you know..."

Pidge looked back to the mat and cocked her head. "Well, now _I_ am," she said, and Lance abruptly sat down cross-legged, beet red.

"What did I _ever do_ to you two?" he sulked, arms folded.

Abruptly, from the mat Keith let out a breathy, pained groan and all three of them looked to see Shiro pinning Keith face-first into the mat. Keith wiggled underneath Shiro's weight, face deeply red but Shiro had him pinned well and he wasn't going anywhere. "Do you yield?" Shiro said clearly, although he was staring down at Keith and breathing very hard.

"Not a fucking chance," Keith snarled and wriggled and tried to get free.

"I don't think they remember we're here," Hunk said, turning faintly pink as Shiro lowered his head closer to Keith's and adjusted his body slightly.

" _Yield_ ," Shiro ordered, and even Pidge turned pink at his tone.

Keith growled and wiggled and then let out another breathy gasp before finally croaking, "I yield, I _yield._ "

Without hesitation Shiro rolled off of Keith, and stood up, wiping his hands on his trousers and then looking at the others arrayed at the edge of the mat. Lance was still sitting cross-legged, bright red and staring at Keith, his hands clearly displayed by resting on his knees. Keith got up on his hands and knees, and then sat back on his ankles, wiping the back of one hand against his mouth and refusing to make eye contact with anyone, least of all Lance.

"Good, everyone's here now," Shiro said, somewhat winded but not allowing that to affect his voice. "We're gonna work on defensive combinations and drilling with bayards." Hunk pulled Lance to his feet, and Lance raised his hand.

"I think Keith might need a cold shower first," he reported.

" _Lance,_ " Shiro said in his warning tone.

"Just an observation," Lance called, now from behind Hunk, because Keith had gotten to his feet and looked like he had murder on his mind.

"Focus," Shiro said. "We have a lot to catch up on, break time's over."

 

* * *

 

Lance rest his chin on the long table and stared morosely across it. "My _everything_ hurts," he whined, and didn't even scoot away to avoid the half-hearted jab from his left, where Keith was slumped in the high-backed chair.

"You didn't get your face ground into the mat repeatedly," Keith groaned.

"That was voluntary. You like it when Shiro beats up on you." Lance cracked open his eyes at this sudden revelation, and rolled his head to look at Keith in wonderment. "You're a _masochist_ ," he said, scandalized.

Keith turned red. "What the _fuck_ ," he said.

"Can we not have this conversation over dinner?" Hunk asked. "I mean, we're all here, Lance. We can all hear you."

Allura said, "a masochist is one who likes pain, yes?"

"More like, derives pleasure from pain but yeah," Pidge said, stirring her spoon in her bowl. "That's the general idea."

"I see," Allura said thoughtfully.

Keith covered his eyes with one hand. "I'm going to kill you," he said, glaring at Lance.

"Go ahead and try," Lance said without moving his chin from the table. "I would welcome death. My only regret is I didn't get to enjoy my last cheeseburger."

"Okay, that's _enough_ ," Shiro said. "Keith, no." Keith put his bayard on the table and sighed dramatically. "Can we maybe have a meal that doesn't devolve into drama for once?"

"This isn't drama," Pidge said. "This is just about sex."

"That too," Shiro said. " _Keith._ "

Keith folded his arms and slumped back in his chair, thwarted again, as Allura said, "well I, for one, find this all very fascinating. Human mating rituals are so different from Altean!"

Pidge smirked and leaned forward. "Well, we could always let you _observe_ one, Allura-"

"Pidge!" Shiro said, and the same time Keith and Lance went, "what?"

"Can we talk about something else?" Hunk ventured.

"Yes, let's talk about your poor performances this afternoon in the training simulator," Allura said pleasantly.

"Oh boy," Lance said very loudly and only a bit sarcastically. " _Thanks_ , Hunk."

  


  



	24. Chapter 24

When Shiro backed Lance against the corridor wall, Lance let him, felt his shoulders hit the cool white bulkhead, felt Shiro's hand on his face, tilting his head to just the right angle. Shiro wasn't _that_ much taller than him, but this action didn't incite the fight or flight reaction, just Lance's body rising away from the wall, one arm thrown over Shiro's shoulder as he gasped against his mouth.

He didn't want this to end, didn't want to think about it deeply, just wanted to keep devouring Shiro's mouth. His body trembled as Shiro's hand traced down his side, to the waist of his jeans, fingers working into the catch and opening the front, leaving his pants to hang loose on his hips. Lance didn't care, _couldn't_ , his mind was filled hazy and full with thoughts of Shiro, _Shiro-_

Lance wanted to say, _don't stop, don't,_ as Shiro's fingers pressed against the bulge in his underwear, circled it, drew it out – some part of his mind was reminding him they were in the corridor, in the open, and how embarrassing would it be for someone to walk _by_ right now, but Lance was if anything an expert at ignoring that part of his brain.

Keith's hand pressed his shoulder back into the wall, softer than it felt like a wall should be but Lance was too far gone to really care about that, until Keith's face got close, eyes narrowed and he hissed, "would you _stop_ that?"

Lance blinked his eyes open and stared at Keith, his hair sleep-tousled and expression definitely not pleased. The threads of his dream were already slipping away, and Lance dug the palm of his hand into his eye and said, "th' fuck did you _wake_ me for, I was having a _good_ dream-"

"Yeah, I _know_ ," Keith said, rolled up on his side beside Lance. "You were moaning real good an' loud, and I couldn't even sleep _through_ it this time." He shoved Lance in the shoulder, far too close in the dim light of the dark and Lance licked his lips, thought of the hot hand on his cock and shifted uncomfortably.

"Sorry my dreams were just too good to keep quiet on," Lance said sarcastically. "At least I didn't sleep-hump you."

"That happened _once_ ," Keith said, leaned in close, and Lance couldn't help himself, reaching out to touch Keith's face, settling his palm on Keith's jaw, thumb on the rise of his cheek. Keith froze in place, then narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"You're really..." Lance closed his eyes, more drowsy than not. " _Pretty._ "

Keith went really, absolutely, still. He covered Lance's hand on his face and pulled it off slowly, which caused Lance to crack his eyes open again, especially when Keith very tentatively kissed the palm of Lance's held hand. It was hard to tell in the dim light, but Lance could guess he was probably pink.

"Idiot," Keith muttered. "I don't want to hear that from a _guy_."

"Not even from your boyfriend?" Lance murmured.

Keith hesitated and drew back a little. Lance rubbed his eyes and yawned and squinted at Keith, who was staring at him oddly. "Are you my..." Keith didn't seem to be able to get the word out, on the first try. "Boyfriend?"

"Well, yeah," Lance was very matter of fact about it. "You're sleeping in my bed right now, aren't you?"

"Boyfriend," Keith repeated again, turning the word over in his mouth. Then he leaned in close to Lance, so close that their noses brushed, and said softly, "I guess it's all right if you're my boyfriend, then."

"Mm, good," Lance said, and patted Keith's cheek. "We'll celebrate with a blow job or something in the morning."

Keith actually laughed, a soft laugh that made Lance smile, and then he tucked his head against Lance's mostly on his shoulder. He was still smiling when Lance drifted off again, arm thrown over Lance's chest and their heads tilted together.

 

* * *

  

Lance said, "Keith is my boyfriend," and Pidge said, "no fucking shit, Sherlock," and went back to soldering her robot.

Lance said, "Keith is my boyfriend," and Hunk smacked him on the shoulder and grinned and said, "it's about time."

Lance said, "Keith is my boyfriend," and Allura smiled and said, "that's wonderful, as long as it doesn't interfere with your duties."

Lance said, "Keith is my boyfriend," and Shiro paused just a moment before smiling and said, genuinely, "I'm glad."

Lance said, "Keith is my boyfriend," and Keith said, "if you don't stop saying that I'm going to punch out all your fucking _teeth._ "

 

* * *

 

Shiro stood in the flight bay for the red lion and watched Keith tinker with the speeder he had found and claimed from the main launch bay. It was made only for atmospheric flight, so Shiro wasn't certain when he would have a chance to deploy it, but taking it apart and putting it back together again was giving a great lesson in Altean tech that they wouldn't get otherwise. "I've never seen Lance so ... _bubbly_ ," Shiro said, leaned back against what doubled as a workbench.

"Yeah," Keith grunted. He was sitting on the floor on the other side of the speeder facing Shiro, but he seemed not very interested in looking at Shiro. "It's really fucking annoying."

"He's happy, let him be happy," Shiro said lightly. Keith stuck his hand out and pointed to the workbench.

"Spanner," Keith said, and Shiro looked behind him, found the appropriate tool and handed it over to Keith, who promptly took it and flipped it in his hand once, before slapping it hard against one of the components of the bike. Shiro jumped at the loud crack, but it didn't seem to affect Keith, who frowned, turned the spanner over again and started to tighten something.

"He's off his heat, at least," Shiro said mildly, and rubbed a hand over his nose. "It's nice for things to get a bit back to normal in that regard."

Keith hesitated, and looked up at Shiro finally. "What do you think about all this," he asked, finally, tilting his head. "Me, and Lance?"

"I think you two are good for each other," Shiro said honestly. "You ground Lance, and Lance allows you open up more. It can only benefit the team that you're together." Shiro folded his arms, and the smile only seemed forced if you looked closely.

Keith was looking closely. "What about us?" he said.

Shiro shrugged his shoulders. "I don't want to interfere," he said. "I'm glad you're both happy."

"Even though we're both omegas. Together." Still watching closely, Keith laid the spanner on the ground next to his knee, and wiped his oil-covered hands on a rag. "On earth, it wouldn't be … ideal."

"We're not on earth," Shiro said, watching Keith just as closely as Keith was watching him.

"Even though I want you too," Keith said finally.

Shiro was silent for a long, long moment. "I don't think that's fair to Lance," he said finally. "Even if he was okay with it, I don't think-"

"Even though," Keith said this one slowly, cutting off Shiro. "Lance wants you to fuck him, too?"

It took a full, long moment for that to process. "What?" Shiro asked, in that high-pitched, squeaky way when someone doesn't really quite understand what they heard.

"He's been having dreams about it," Keith said. He looked away a moment, gathering himself, then back to Shiro on the other side of the half-built speeder bike. "He doesn't know he's been saying your name in his sleep. But I know."

"Lance _hates_ alphas."

"But not you." Keith pushed himself to his knees, in a preparatory step to gaining his feet. "If it was you, I think he'd be fine."

"What is it that you're suggesting, exactly?" Shiro asked, although he already knew, but he couldn't quite believe it, he wanted to hear Keith say it because there was no way this was actually happening.

Keith rubbed the back of his hand over his nose and left a streak of smudged oil. "I can't really suggest anything until we've both talked to Lance," he said finally. "But ... I guess that maybe you could be _our_ boyfriend, too?"


	25. Chapter 25

When Keith left the flight bay, it was well past dinner time. He'd skipped the meal in part because Hunk and Pidge had been knee-deep in attempting to interpret the data that Pidge was pulling from the memory core and that meant that dinner was likely made by Coran. And while Altean-specific cuisine was _unique_ in its primary flavor combinations, Keith was barely able to stomach it with a straight face on a regular day.

"Man, you _missed_ it," Lance said. He was sitting on the floor in the bedroom, legs spread impressively and leaned forward between them, stretching out. Keith stopped short in the open door, and immediately cupped his hand over the lower part of his face, because he'd never seen Lance stretching out like _this_ before. "I don't know what the hell it was that Coran made, but it tasted like _motor oil_."

"Sampled much motor oil?" Keith said as casually as he could manage, stepping around Lance and pulling his dirt-and-grime soaked shirt off as he did so. "That explains a lot."

"Yeah, it's a delicacy where I come from," Lance said, and rolled his eyes. "Where have _you_ been?"

"Flight bay." Keith looked into the drawer that popped out of the wall into which all dirty clothes got dumped, before shoving his shirt inside. "I was working on a speeder."

"Cool, cool." Lance was still stretching out, his legs spread like he was doing the splits. Keith looked over at him and then back again, because he wasn't capable of dealing with that at the moment, he had no idea Lance was _that_ flexible.

"So, um," Keith wasn't certain how to broach the subject. Shiro had agreed that he would let Keith talk to Lance first, and Shiro himself wasn't making any decisions yet either, which left Keith really nervous that despite his declarations he might still have to make a choice. He turned back to Lance, only to see now that Lance was typing something into the Altean-modified datapad Lance had stolen from Pidge. "...what are you doing?"

"Nothing," Lance said, typing furiously.

"That doesn't look like _nothing_ to me," Keith said, shucking off his gloves and dumping them into the chute behind his shirt.

After another moment of furious typing, Lance looked up and made a face. "Hunk bet me twenty bucks that we couldn't have a conversation without fighting about something."

"We have conversations all the time!" Keith spread his hands. "We're talking right now!"

"I know, right?" Lance said. "I mean, it's not like you can help you're ... well, _you_."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Keith said flatly.

Lance shrugged. "Well, you're ..." he gestured at Keith with one hand outstretched, and held that position for a moment, clearly processing. Keith was already irritated, and was about to actually say something very rude and ruin the conversation when Lance started turning noticeably pink.

"Why are you blushing?"

"I'm not blushing!" Lance yanked his hand back and covered his face with his free hand, which did very little to cover the warm red tones that had crept up Lance's face and into his hairline.

"You _are_ blushing!" Keith said, and Lance let out a little embarrassed noise and dropped the datapad, covering his face now with both hands. "Why are you blushing?"

"I want whatever it is you've done to my brain to stop!" Lance said, and peeked between his fingers before blushing again and covering his face.

Keith was thoroughly lost, now. "What?"

"You're _hot_ ," Lance complained, still with his face (and eyes) covered. "You're covered in dirt and sweat and grime and you're really freaking attractive like that and it's _unfair._ "

Keith looked down at himself a little self-consciously. "Really?" He'd never even thought that before, although he did need to get a shower in he'd stopped by the room first in the hopes of having A Certain Conversation with Lance and now he didn't know if he could steer the topic on course. "You're ... attractive, too. I guess."

"You _guess?_ " Lance dropped his hands and screeched a little. "You guess?? Damn straight I'm attractive!" He slapped both of his palms on the floor between his spread legs. "I had girls all _over_ me at the academy!"

He was fairly certain this was a lie of some caliber, but Keith made a mental note to ask Hunk for certain. "If you had girls all over you, why were you so bad at sex?" Keith asked honestly.

The color that Lance's face turned defied description. "Fuck _you_!" he screeched, scrambling to his feet. "I'm not bad at sex! You scratched up my _back_ and _begged_ to get off!"

Those points were both true, and Keith was willing to admit to that. "But you could be better," he said.

Lance advanced on him, and shoved Keith in the shoulder. He was close to the wall as it was, it was a bare half-step back to it and Lance had him pinned, one hand slammed against the wall by his head. "You are _really_ pissing me off," Lance snarled.

"It's just honest criticism," Keith said. "I would expect you to tell me if I was performing inadequately."

Lance opened his mouth and closed his mouth again a few times. Then he hung his head and sighed dramatically. "Foreplay," he finally said. "You suck at foreplay, Keith."

There was a moment of silence as they stood there together, and Keith wet his lips, and knew exactly what he was asking when he said, "so why don't you show me?"

 

* * *

 

Shiro slammed the robot back with his prosthetic hand, and it blocked his next jab. He'd set the training level high because he'd wanted a hard workout, something to distract him one hundred percent from the thoughts that had been trailing through his mind ever since he had left the red lion's hanger, and so far the program had very much been doing its job.

One hard punch, a block, a parry, a leg sweep – Shiro kept pressing on mindless of the robot's programmed fight patterns. It was for the most part an excellent sparring partner, if only because he had no obligation to pull his punches even a little.

Keith had offered him so much on a plate, and he didn't know if he was strong enough to reject it. Keith and Lance being together was good for the team, they supported each other already, there was very little possible detriment ... but he couldn't see what good would come of it if he was involved. In fact, the negatives highlighted themselves in stark contrast to everything; especially in regards to Lance. Lance was afraid of alphas, full stop. This would just end poorly.

Shiro let out a yell of frustration as he caught another blow on his Galran arm and then used it to slam his fist through the torso of the robot. He could barely restrain himself as it was, where Keith was concerned. Two omegas, in heat, vying for his attention? Shiro wiped his face with the back of his left hand and panted aloud. A bad, _bad_ idea.

So why was he still considering it?

Shiro lifted his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Start training level six," he commanded, and this time, two of the sparring robots rose from the floor. Breathing hard through his open mouth, Shiro squared off.

 

* * *

 

Lance leaned over Keith in the bed, rubbing his fingers through the splatter of come that trailed up Keith's belly. "I told you," he said with a smirk, as Keith panted, red-faced. "And you didn't believe me."

"Sh-shut up," Keith groaned, and raised a hand to his face. Lance leaned forward again and applied his mouth to Keith's chest, tongue and teeth both, tracing around his nipple before firmly catching the nub between his teeth. Keith moaned and jerked a little, and Lance ran his hand back down to rub over the head of Keith's cock. "Fffffuck," Keith moaned, and raised his hips off the bed.

"Can't just jam it in when you're not in heat," Lance murmured into Keith's chest, correctly interpreting the action. "Gotta work up to it." He grinned as he felt Keith's fingers in his hair, coiling tight. "But we'll get to it," he promised. He pushed himself up a little so he could look into Keith's face, red and panting and still not yet satisfied. "Still think I'm bad at sex?" he teased, stroking Keith's cock one-handed.

"Y-yeah," Keith said, and closed his eyes and groaned when Lance squeezed him in retaliation. "Oh, _fuck-_ "

"Fine then," Lance said as he trailed his mouth lower, lapping at the fluid that had settled on Keith's skin. " _Be_ an ass, we'll see how that works out for you here in a bit-"

The rest of his sentence, and his thought, was abruptly interrupted by the emergency scramble siren.


	26. Chapter 26

Shiro was not the first to arrive on the bridge of the castle-ship. When he stepped off the lift, wearing his paladin suit and helmet tucked safely under his arm, Hunk was already standing on deck – fully dressed in his paladin suit as well, but not quite awake yet despite the proximity alarm still going off. Shiro patted his shoulder as he passed and Hunk straightened out of his slouch for a moment, then yawned hugely.

Allura stood at the helm, also dressed from her usual night clothes, hair tightly coiled and very few strands escaping, as if she had had all the time in the world to prepare for this scramble. Which, judging by the empty starfield on the forward display, was more than likely a training exercise. "What's going on?" he asked her, and Allura looked back as the lift opened again and spilled Pidge onto the bridge as well.

"We've received a distress call from a ship currently being pursued by a Galra scout ship," Allura said, and nodded to Coran, who pulled up the display. Several humanoid aliens were clustered around a video message, with furred complexions ranging in shades of browns to reds. "These Clawomians escaped through a blockade on their system but were pursued; their ship lacks the ability to create wormholes, but is more than fast enough to move between systems."

She gestured, and the display of aliens shimmered into a distant shot of a small craft, much smaller than the castle-ship, cutting across the highlight of a planet. A few moments later, a Galra ship loomed after it, much larger but still not a frigate.

"Why isn't the Galra ship firing?" Pidge asked.

Allura shook her head. "I'm not sure. But it is clearly in pursuit." They all looked up as the lift opened again, and this time Lance and Keith staggered out, fully dressed. Allura turned to them with a severe frown, clearly about to unload.

Shiro beat her to it. "Glad to see you could join us," he said sharply, then paused. Somehow, in the scramble of trying to get dressed and report to the bridge, Keith and Lance had switched helmets. Keith was wearing Lance's helmet, and Lance had Keith's tucked under his arm, and neither of them looked with it enough to notice. Pidge and Hunk both snickered, and Shiro sighed. Allura was appalled.

"Sorry we're late," Keith said, and did not elaborate further as to the reasons. "It won't happen again."

"Keith," Pidge said. "Lance has your helmet."

Keith looked over at Pidge, clearly confused by this, but Lance looked at the helmet under his arm, then his head snapped around very quickly to actually _look_ at Keith, then he turned red. Keith looked at Lance without comprehension, until Lance held up the red helmet and said, "you've got mine."

"Oh," Keith said, and took it off. They swapped helmets and then stood loosely at attention.

"Emergency alarms could occur at _any_ moment," Allura said. "You must _always_ be prepared." She gestured at the image on the screens of the small Clawomian ship. "They've been broadcasting a generalized help message; they clearly have no idea who is out there or even listening, so we must offer aid with due haste."

Hunk raised his hand. "So," he said, carefully. "What if it's a trap?"

Everyone looked to Hunk, clearly waiting on an explanation. "The Galra ship isn't firing on them," he said. "Doesn't that strike anyone else as a little odd?"

"Could be that they have something important on board," Pidge said with a small shrug.

"Or someone," Keith said. "Important."

"But why not use the tractor beam if that's the case?" Hunk shrugged, his hands wide. "It just smells a little fishy, guys."

"Hunk's got a point," Shiro said. "We have to proceed like this is a trap set specifically for us."

Lance shrugged. "So we form Voltron and smash the Galra ship, even if the Clawomack ship is a trap it's too small to be a danger, especially as Voltron."

"Clawomian," Allura corrected.

"If they're actually in danger, everyone wins. If they're bait, they're probably being used against their will, everyone wins." Lance put his free hand on his hip.

"The entire setup could be the bait," Keith said thoughtfully, and Shiro nodded.

"That's a scout ship, it doesn't have much in terms of firepower," Shiro said. "It isn't a match for Voltron, it's not even a match for our lions separately."

"We go out to destroy the scout ship, and a full-scale assault is unleashed from the frigate that's hiding off our sensors," Keith folded his arms. "That's an iffy prospect, that we would be able to handle that as we are now."

"So... we don't go out?" Hunk said, and Pidge shook her head.

"We can't _not_ go out," she said. "What if it's exactly what it looks like on the box, a bunch of refugees that broke through a barricade and escaped?"

"Pidge is right," Shiro said. "We're going to deploy. Lance, you and Pidge check out the Clawomian ship – escort it to the planet's surface. Keith, Hunk and I will take care of the scout ship." He glanced to Allura, who had her arms folded as well, she nodded her head. "Let's do this, team."

 

* * *

 

In the cockpit of the red lion, Keith brought up a video chat to the black lion. Shiro popped up on his screen, on the left display, concentrating more of flying than the contact. They were already in split formation, Shiro at the lead, headed toward the sleek, sick purple coloring of the Galra scout ship. "I thought I'd let you know," he said, knowing it was one hundred percent inappropriate but needing to get it out of his chest. "I haven't had a chance to talk to Lance yet. We were..." he didn't want to say it, even on a closed transmission. "... _busy._ "

Shiro didn't glance at the feed itself. "This isn't the time for that," he said, and Keith nodded his head automatically. "But you can't let it interfere with this," Shiro added. "Our duties as paladins come first, no matter what."

"Yeah," Keith said softly, before he closed the transmission. "I know."

 

* * *

 

"Their IF/F beacon reads as Clawomian," Pidge reported as the green lion made a loop around the slowly spinning transport ship. One of the engines was most of the way burnt out -- Lance's lion was scanning the ship, giving him an over-all report, including the information Pidge had just transmitted. Lance couldn't read Clawomian, but he was willing to be that Pidge had installed some form of language translation into the systems of her lion.

He shifted in his seat forward slightly, and felt the soft purr of the lion in response, almost amused. "Hey, you'd be uncomfortable too if you got epically blue-balled," he muttered, and Pidge said, "I didn't copy."

"Nothing," Lance said loudly. He knew good and well Pidge heard him, and pretended that she didn't. "Opening up transmission to the ship, let's hope the universal translator isn't borked."

Lance squared his shoulders and stared out the forward viewscreen, where the camera appeared to be located. "Clawomiack ship-"

" _Clawomian_ ," Pidge hissed.

"Clawomian ship, this is a paladin of Voltron. We heard your distress call and are here to help." He flipped the toggle on the communicator and a small rectangular portrait appeared in the upper left corner of his forward display – the Clawomians.

The one who addressed Lance spoke in clicks and whistles, which after a few seconds the universal translator caught up. "Much thank, Voltron-spirit," came through the line. "Cannot escape. Accepted."

"You can escape," Pidge said. "Our friends are engaging the Galran scout ship. You are no longer being pursued; we're here to escort you to the planet below."

There was a hurried conference in front of Lance's eyes as the Clawomians communicated faster than the translator could keep up. "Cannot survive planetfall," the red-furred one who had addressed Lance said. "Many wounds, engine cries."

"I think that their ship is too damaged to survive atmospheric entry," Pidge said.

"I got that, thanks," Lance said. "So what do we do?"

"I can take a look at it," Pidge said, flying the green lion closer and turning the wide-band communicator on. "I'll board the ship, see what I can do."

"Not alone," Lance said. "What if it IS a trap?"

"Well there's only two of us, Lance," Pidge said. "You need to watch my lion so that no one grabs it until I get back." That said, the small single-person speeder ejected from the green lion and headed determinedly toward the Clawomian crap.

"Oh man oh man," Lance said sharply under his breath. "I do _not_ like this."

  



	27. Chapter 27

The Galran scout ship was a small vessel, in comparison to the larger ships Keith had seen before. "It won't have much of anything to deploy," Shiro said over the open communications channel. "Scout ships are made for speed, not skirmishes. Most of the firepower will be concentrated on the forward portion of the ship, so try not to get tagged. The tractor beam will be up there, too."

The red lion had pulled up enough data about the quickly-growing ship on his forward viewscreen that he could quickly corroborate everything Shiro was saying. "What about its particle shield?" he said, and the yellow lion shifted course, looping away from them both.

"I'm on it," Hunk said, heading directly toward the aft portion of the ship. Keith watched as the yellow lion rebounded off the shield, causing a flurry of colorful sparks to ripple and ionize. He could have _told_ Hunk that was going to be the outcome, when Hunk said through the channel, "it's not a very strong particle shield; look at how long it took to restore from impact."

The action made several of the plasma turrets on forward part of the ship swivel and start to fire at Hunk. "Keith!" Shiro ordered, and without question Keith slammed the red lion forward, rushing past the yellow lion and drawing a somewhat confused line of fire from the weapons as they rushed and reoriented on the potential new threat.

"This shield can't handle multiple points of impact," Hunk shouted as all three lions flew quickly around the Galran vessel, causing it to pitch slowly and roll, trying to keep the plasma cannons along its belly lined up with the much-quicker flight paths of the paladins.

"On your mark then, Hunk," Shiro said, the black lion sweeping past Keith and headed directly toward the belly of the ship.

"On my-? Okay," Hunk said. Keith directed the red lion toward the engines, as Hunk counted off. "On my mark, three, two-!"

The impact of the red lion into the particle shield that protected the Galran scout ship's engines was hard enough that Keith was slammed against his seat. He kept his hands on the controls, though, even as Hunk whooped. "One more time!"

This time a colorful spray of sparks exploded across the face of the red lion. Keith heard Hunk's war whoop seconds before the particle barrier evaporated, leaving behind a faint glittering shadow of its scope. "Shields are down," Keith reported, as Shiro acknowledged.

"Good job, Hunk," Shiro said, as Keith headed determinedly for the engines. If they could disable the ship, maybe they could learn more about the Galrans and their plans, but before Keith could get a chance to even fire a weapon the engines started exploding, one after the other. He yanked back on his controls and pulled a 180 out and away from the back of the ship. "Great shots, Keith!"

"That wasn't me!" Keith hit several of the toggles that appeared on the dashboard in front of the seat whenever the lion was active, and felt the red lion rumble around him. That had been close, and he wouldn't be surprised if the lion's tail was a bit singed. "Sorry buddy," Keith said, boths hands back on the controls. "I'll make it up to you."

He could feel the red lion react to that, and Keith yanked both of the flight controls back toward him. He had a bad feeling about this.

 

* * *

 

The aft of the Clawomian ship was badly damaged; dark with carbon scoring from multiple plasma weapon strikes. In several spots the hull was breached. Bulkheads must have been closed and sealed from the inside, securing the ship's atmosphere; but re-entry was out of the question with hull integrity compromised. " _Shit,_ " Pidge said emphatically.

"Shit's not good," Lance said over the open channel.

"No it's not." Pidge's helmet had closed around her face, sealing to her suit so that she could eject from the speeder and inspect the damage as much as she could. "Their main engine core must be damaged, only the auxiliary engines are running. The hull's compromised, too." She put the fingers of her glove into the breech, it was small enough that she couldn't even get her hand through. It was more than enough to vent the entire ship's atmosphere and kill everybody on board if the pressurized seal of the bulkhead didn't hold. "We've got to get them to the castle-ship, it's their only hope."

"Uh," Lance said suddenly. "I think that might be out of the question. Pidge, get back to your lion."

Pidge looked up and back from the hull of the Clawomian ship, inclining her head back in time to see the massive Galran battleship appear between them and the castle-ship on the edge of the system. It wasn't fear that curled in her stomach at the immense ship's design, but Pidge inhaled quickly. "That's bad," she said.

"Way to win understatement of the year," the blue lion shot around the Clawomian ship, putting itself between the small cargo ship and the massive bulk of the battleship. "Get back to your lion, Pidge!"

"I can't leave them," Pidge said, using the rockets on the back of her suit to skim along the surface of the ship. "If I can get the primary engine running they can at least get this ship to the castle-ship."

"Well whatever it is you plan to do, do it quick," Lance snapped. "Things are gonna get ugly fast, and we need to form Voltron!"

"Right," Pidge said, as she followed along the breech, to find it split through a pressurization hatch. She pulled the damaged hatch open, and floated into the ship properly, tapping the controls on her arm as she went and opening a channel to the Clawomian ship itself. If the engine protocol on this was different than the pods on the castle-ship, she was going to have to learn it and _fast_ to get it running, and the best way to do that was to speak to their engineers directly. "This is the green paladin," she said, addressing the ship. "I need any available ship engineers to cycle me through the airlock, and take me to the engine."

 

* * *

 

"We're screwed," Hunk said.

"We're not screwed," Keith said, bringing the red lion up and around the Galran scout ship. The engine detonation had left the ship dead in the water, so to speak, no lights and no activity from the plasma cannon. There was also, tellingly, no response from Shiro. Keith inhaled. "Lance, Pidge, get your butts over here!"

"Kinda busy at the moment," Pidge's voice sounded strained.

"That is one large ship," Hunk said. "Oh look, something's coming out of the ship."

Keith shook his head once, not bothering to switch the communications channel over to check on Shiro, they didn't have the time. "Princess, any idea what's coming?"

The reply was garbled and cut up, but he could make out some syllables, one of which sounded like 'drones.' "Good," Lance said dryly. "They've got long distance jammers. _Today_ , Pidge!"

There was no immediate response. "What is she doing?" Hunk asked.

"Trying to get their engine at full capacity so they can make it to the castle ship," Lance said. "The engines are damaged and the hull's breached, it probably won't survive atmospheric re-entry."

"Today just keeps getting better and better," Keith said. "Shiro, what's the plan?"

There was another moment of radio silence, stretched just long enough that Keith had his heart in his throat, but then Shiro's voice came through the communicator, strong and solid. "If Pidge is helping with the engines, she's out of the green lion. We cannot let a lion fall into Galran hands; Keith you hang back with Lance and protect the ship and Pidge's lion. Hunk, you're with me."

"Seriously?" Hunk said. "All of that?" There was a beat and Hunk apparently made his peace with the plan, trusting Shiro. "All right."

"Not all right!" Keith said. He yanked back on the throttle hard, and the red lion shot forward into space, headed straight for the glittering mass that was quickly resolving into drone-piloted starfighters. "Lance can protect the green lion, you need all the firepower you can get! C'mon, Hunk!"

"Keith!" Shiro yelled, as the yellow lion shot off after Keith without hesitation. The black lion hung back for a few heartbeats before he followed as well.

"Oh, come _on_ Pidge," Lance said, both of his hands tight on the flight controls as some of the drone starfighters broke off and headed in their direction. "We're running out of time!"

 

* * *

 

Only one Clawomian met Pidge at the airlock. Clawomians appeared to be smaller than Pidge had guessed, this one only stood slightly taller than she was. It was mottled red-furred, with large eyes and a flat nose, and ears that were tied together and laid loose down its back. It waved a three fingered hand at her and clicked and whistled frantically, and the universal translator could barely keep up. "Much ship, many stars. Engine sleeps. Time runs."

"Yeah, I know, clock's ticking," Pidge made to touch the bottom of her helmet to at least slip it off so she wouldn't feel as claustrophobic, but the sensor on the helmet's HUD warned her the air levels were low. "Where's the engine? I bet we can get this baby running in no time."

The Clawomian gestured and Pidge followed. "Paladin small," it said. "Many hearts. Brave."

" _Pidge_ ," Lance said. "You've got maybe five minutes before shit and fan come together in a _giant fucking mess._ "

"Right," Pidge said aloud as they entered the engine room at a dead run. "We've got this. Just keep them busy, Lance!"

"Yeah," Lance said from the blue lion, watching his targeting map turn red with a swarm of fighters headed his way. "I'll just keep'em busy. Why didn't _I_ think of that?”


	28. Chapter 28

It only took three minutes for Pidge to realize that there was no saving the cargo ship's engines. The main drive was damaged beyond repair – the Clawomian named Nrr had helped her to the best of his abilities but there was nothing that could be done. The auxiliary drives were running near-critical levels, there was no way they'd get this ship past the Galran battleship.

She slapped both of her hands on a control panel and stared at the readouts, the script foreign. The same translator unit that operated in her helmet to help her understand the communications of alien species also presented a literal translation of foreign characters displayed on the inside of her visor, and they told her the same thing Nrr had. They were dead in the water, so to speak. "We've got a problem," she reported through the open communications channel. "I can't get the engine running again. It's been damaged too badly, the core is beyond repair." She looked over at the short, red-furred Clawomian. "How many of you are on board?"

Nrr raised a three-fingered hand. "Six ninths."

"Great," Pidge said.

"Lacking fledglings. Nine ninths."

"Pidge, we're out of time!" Lance's voice went high with stress. "Get _out_ here!"

She pressed her hand to the side of her helmet, as if that would help her hear, or think better. "There's almost a hundred of these guys on board," she said sharply. "I'm not abandoning them." She spun around the engine room, stared at a bulkhead that grimy grey and yellow, and then her eyes widened. "I have an idea!"

 

* * *

 

The waves of Galran drone starfighters were endless.

Shiro's hands were tight on the controls. The ships were smaller than any of the lions, and came in wings of four, plasma cannons spitting a wave of fire that they were hard pressed to dodge. Every glance he spared to his targeting map didn't show individual targets, just a solid cluster of red. "There has to be at least four hundred of these things," Hunk's voice sound desperate.

"They're drone ships though," the red lion cut a graceful arc across the screen, with two flights on his six. He juked left and down and there was the brief flicker of explosions as several of the drone ships collided with each other, burning up brilliantly as the explosion's fury was quickly muted by the vacuum of space. "They're trying to overwhelm, because they can't out fly us!"

"There's no way that we can take them all out," Shiro said. The black lion ran alongside the far edge of the skirmish, head pointed toward the Galran battleship that cut an imposing figure across his forward viewscreen. "We've got to take out the transmitter on the ship, that will kill the communications lines to the drones."

"Great. You do realize the particle shield on a battleship that size will be just a little bit stronger than one on a scout ship, right?" Hunk said. The yellow lion took some hits and he yelped, slamming through some drone starfighters bodily and leaving a mess of brief explosions and wreckage in his wake.

"Plus the Galra ship has tractor beams," Keith said. "We do NOT want to get caught up in that." There was a pause. "Tractor beams can't operate through a particle shield. Can they, Shiro?"

Shiro wasn't even conscious of lifting his right hand off the control, until he realized how tightly he was clenching it. "They're going to target me first – we won't have a large window to work with, especially with the drones. Hunk, I'll paint a target on the main transmitter, that's likely to be the origin of the drone's feed. Keith, take out as many other transmitters and plasma cannons as you can while the shields are down; one of them has to be the long-distance jammer. The more drones you can drag with you that will hit the ship, the better."

"Shiro," Hunk said, and Shiro could hear the entire question in just his name. He was surprised that Keith hadn't said anything, but didn't let that surprise distract him much.

"I'll be fine," he said. "They'd have to tag me with the tractor beam first."

"I can't let you do this, Shiro!" Keith said, and _there_ it was, the desperation heavy in his voice.

"You don't get a choice," Shiro said, pressing some of the buttons on the console before him. "While any of the lions would be a prize to Zarkon, there's a premium on my head." He smiled grimly. "Besides, it's not like we're surrendering." A spray of plasma fire from the yellow lion as Hunk passed by took out a whole row of drone starfighters. "Keep on my six," Shiro said. "We're only gonna get one chance at this!"

 

* * *

 

Lance saw the small blip on the screen that was the green lion's speeder shooting away from the Clawomian cargo ship. "It's about time," he said as Pidge popped up on his screen in a visual feed. He was currently doing a long loop of the ship, dragging about seven drone fighters after himself and keeping as many as he could occupied and not clustering around the disabled ship or the currently pilot-less green lion. "We've got to join up with the others."

"Can't do that," Pidge said, then touched another communications key, which opened up the feed to the Clawomian ship. "Nrr, do you copy?"

"Nrr here, paladin."

"Did you get everyone to the front of the ship?"

"Much crowd, many upset."

Pidge nodded. "I think that's a yes." She looked up at the camera, to Lance. "I'm going to seal the breach on the ship, we're going to try for atmospheric entry. If we survive this, I'll be back up as quick as I can."

"'If' -- wait, _we_? Pidge, what are you doing?" Distracted, the blue lion was slammed by several plasma bolts at once, and it pitched forward, slamming Lance down into the cockpit's seat with the force of it. By the time he reoriented and regained control, the Clawomian ship was much smaller on his screen. He turned the blue lion back toward it, his back toward the Galran battleship.

"There's no quick way to close the breach," Pidge said casually. "The stress of the fracture weakened the hull all around it. So I'm going to clamp it and hold it with the green lion." The cargo ship was bigger than the lion, but not by much. "Nrr, open the communications, brace for impact!"

Lance opened his mouth to yell at Pidge again, but then the green lion slammed into the side of the cargo ship, and the action was enough to roll the ship. With the thrusters pointed out from the green lion, Pidge actually started pushing the ship toward the glow of the planet below them. He turned the lion and looked up, and saw the pulse coming from the battleship in the distance.

There wasn't a whole lot of time to think, only to react; and react the blue lion did, as if Lance hadn't even touched the controls. It shot forward in space, leaving the drones behind in an instant, putting itself between the huge plasma bolt shot by the Galran ship and the Clawomian cargo ship.

"Pidge-" Lance got out before the impact. The blue lion was hit across the back half, killing its thrusters and engine. All the lights on the lion went out at once, and it spun, out of control, past the cargo ship at a high rate of speed.

" _Lance!_ " Pidge yelled, but couldn't do anything but watch as the green lion held the breached hull of the cargo ship together. "Lance! Do you copy? _Lance!_ "

 

* * *

 

Shiro was right about the particle shield lowering to let the tractor beam loose. And he was also right in that the black lion was the first target for the Galran battleship. However, he _wasn't_ right about the black lion's ability to evade or break the hold of the tractor beam, and the black lion was caught in the beam and being drawn in to the Galran ship.

The yellow lion's firepower had made short work of several transmitters. "Save the drone transmitter for last!" Keith knew he was yelling, didn't care; the panic in his chest had expanded, evicted the air from his lungs and kept the adrenaline high. His red lion was running the length of the ship, picking up drones targeting him like nettles in a thicket. His plan wasn't really much of one, but the black lion didn't seem to be communicating, and Keith couldn't tell if the systems were overridden or if Shiro was intentionally silent, so he had to do this on his own.

Dragging so many drones, he was taking heavy fire and he could _feel_ the way the lion was hurting. Keith held the controls tight. "I know," he said distractedly. "I _know_ , trust me on this, Red!"

Looping around the far side of the ship, dodging more drones and the backwash of engines bigger than the scout ship, he could clearly see the black lion again, hanging in space and being drawn slowly in toward a glowing purple docking bay. Small explosions could be seen along the top ridge of the ship, along with plasma shots as Hunk darted around and caused as much trouble as possible. "I've got a lock on the drone transmitter," Hunk said. "Whatever it is you're planning to do Keith, do it fast!"

This was stupid, and risky, and Keith didn't even hesitate. He slammed the thrusters to full, and shot into the tractor beam from the side, between the black lion and the docking back. It was like hitting a brick wall, and he was thrown forward in his seat, hard enough against the restraints he knew he'd be bruised even under the armor. "Now, Hunk!" he yelled.

The drone transmitter went up in an incandescent explosion. Keith braced hard, as the drones hit the tractor beam behind him, slamming into the back of the red lion and the side of the black lion. Some missed, but most impacted, going up in small chains of explosions. Keith felt the tractor beam flicker; it was too much content, the explosions and the drones both, and the beam faltered – and went out. "Shiro!" Keith yelled as the black lion came to life and did a loop away from the beam, flying close along the belly of the ship.

"I found the long-range jammer!" Hunk said gleefully, shooting it as well. All at once their communication channel was slammed with volume – Allura yelling hoarsely for the paladins, some kind of report, Coran's voice reading information off as quickly as he could, and Pidge's voice, screaming Lance's name-

Keith's head snapped around to the planet, now above him. The scout ship was a distant blip, the Clawomian cargo ship even smaller – streaks around that, as it started its descent into the atmosphere. "Pidge?" he said, frantic. "What happened to Lance, where is he-"

"His lion's down! He's not responding!"

Staring hard at the planet, Keith saw the almost miniscule speck, kilometers away from the cargo ship now and falling fast. "Lance!" he yelled into the communicator uselessly. Without a thought he pushed his lion to full. "Lock on the blue lion," he yelled to it. "Don't let it out of your sight!"

"Keith!" Shiro's voice through the comm, a little ragged. Keith ignored him. "Shit, Hunk – follow Pidge down, make sure the ship gets to safety!"

"Copy!" the yellow lion wasn't as fast as the red lion, but the profile of the cargo ship was still enough to make out even without being locked on to.

Allura's voice filled their communications line, and her image popped on screen to Keith's right, he slammed his hand down on the switch that killed visual communications without even looking at it. "Paladins, report! What is going on out there!? Paladins!"


	29. Chapter 29

There was still no response from the blue lion. It spun slowly, streaks of red and orange around it as it made awkward entry into the large planet's atmosphere. It was growing larger on Keith's viewscreen quickly, and he had to make a decision fast. If he had the red lion just grab on, he ran the risk of destroying the blue lion; a limb or tail could come off at this rate of speed.

Raising Lance on the communicator was not happening. Keith tried not to think about it. The closer he got he saw the blue armor burnt and carbon-scored, large gouges missing from the back end of the hull and its rear legs. It didn't look structurally compromised, though all the exterior running lights were gone and off.

He pushed his lion forward harder, felt the strain of it as he entered the atmosphere at a high rate of speed, and then pushed her even farther, past the blue lion. Keith turned the red lion, so he could see that he was ahead of Lance, and then righted it, hitting the reverse thrusters and bracing for the impact as the blue lion body-checked the red one.

If it weren't for the restraint webbing, Keith would have gone flying from his chair at the impact, it was that violent. He ignored the pained shudder of the lion and concentrated on the reverse thrusters, kicking them to full and hanging on tight.

"Keith!" Shiro's voice on the communicator in his ear, heard above the violence happening outside the cockpit of the red lion. He tilted his head back, to the viewscreen above him, where he could see the blue lion, and then he felt the double impact of the black lion, hitting the blue one from the rear. "I'm flaring the black lion," Shiro said. "To increase drag, you keep holding the reverse thrusters open!"

As Keith watched he saw the huge paws of the black lion clamp to the shoulders of Lance's blue lion, and beyond that, the spread of the large, red wings attached to the black lion. Instantly, they jerked again.

It was still free fall, but more controlled at this point. The blue lion was no longer hurtling out of control toward the planet's surface, with the two other lions bracing him between them they had managed to salvage the situation as best they could. Now, Keith just had to worry about landing this damn thing, because _that_ wasn't going to be pretty.

 

* * *

 

Shiro gripped both the controls, the reverse-thrust turned to full and the drag on the spread wings of the black lion slowing everything considerably. There were all sorts of red warning lights and sirens flashing along the right side of his viewscreen but he ignored them, holding tight and gritting his teeth.

The landscape of the planet below was quickly resolving itself in greens and blues and golds. Keith was the one in control of the angle of entry and descent, and while they had slowed considerably they were still free falling. Shiro didn't let up on the controls to open the comm again, he had to trust that Keith wouldn't direct the column of lions directly into a mountain.

Coniferous green forests spread below them, transitioning to scrubland fast and then Keith was on the comm. "On my mark, release him!"

Shiro didn't stop and question, just reacted. He released the blue lion and with the weight released the black lion flung backward, going tail over teakettle in mid-air before he could regain his equilibrium. The red lion was still bracing the blue lion, but as Shiro balanced and brought his viewscreens to bear, he saw Keith slip out from underneath as well, and the blue lion slammed into soft sand, cutting a deep scar through dunes and coming to rest with its front half splashing into shallow surf on one of the planet's beaches.

Shiro set down the black lion not far from where Keith dropped the red lion into the sand, and he didn't even bother with the speeder, barely waiting for the winch to fully drop him onto the beach. Shiro watched Keith run across the beach, heart pounding and chest heaving, before he flung himself out of the pilot's seat and ran for the exit of the black lion.

 

* * *

 

Pidge stayed in the green lion as the Clawomians poured out of their damaged ship. The terrain where they had managed to land was rocky, a patch where the deep, thick forests meet mountains. "This place is gorgeous," Hunk said, the yellow lion landing beside Pidge. "It reminds me of home."

"Yeah." Pidge agreed. She couldn't spot Nrr among the mass of red and pink fur, aliens grateful to be alive after escaping the wrath of the Galran empire. She looked up at the sky; the battleship was massive enough that it could be seen with the naked eye, even from this distance.

"Shiro and Keith are reporting that they touched down on a beach," Allura's voice said in Pidge's ear. "You must join them quickly."

"Pidge?" Hunk asked softly, and she realized she hadn't responded yet, still staring above, as if the fury of her glare alone was enough to bring the battleship down. "We copy, Princess," Hunk said.

She punched the open communicator so that she could broadcast her words down to the Clawomians. "Find shelter," she said. "As far away from your ship as you can. We'll come back."

That said she turned the green lion, and leaped into the air. Hunk followed, leaving the Clawomians amassed on the rocky surface, alone.

 

* * *

 

Keith was almost to the water's edge when he saw some of the lights activate on the blue lion. Not all of them, but the eye lit up, and the head, half-submerged in the crystal-blue water, opened its mouth. He hesitated a moment, until he saw Lance slide awkwardly out of the mouth and into the shallows, and then Keith splashed into the shallows himself. "Lance!"

Lance raised a hand awkwardly, clearly having trouble sloshing through the thigh-deep water. "Now I know what a spin cycle feels like," he said weakly, green about the gills. "I don't recommend-"

Whatever he was about to say was lost as Keith hit him full in the chest, arms over his shoulders and knocking him off balance. They both got doused by a wave, before Keith shouted _"fucker!_ " and punched him square in the chest plate with a fist.

" _Ow_ ," Lance said, and they got doused by another wave.

Shiro stood at the water's edge, picking up Keith's helmet from where he'd torn it off his head and left it in the soft sand. He smiled as Keith held Lance's head in both hands, even though Lance was yelling, "no, no, don't-" before being silenced by Keith's mouth.

"You should both get out of the water," Shiro called, as Keith gagged and spat into the ocean, then smacked Lance in the chest plate again.

"I tried to warn you," Lance said, as Keith dragged him to his feet and then marched out of the waves, one hand on Lance's wrist and pulling him along. Water poured out of the seams in their armor. "I threw up like, three times. My internal compensator went offline with the rest of the systems." He laughed weakly, and wiped his hand over his mouth as they trudged out of the water. "It's a mess in there, my lion's gonna be so upset once we get her back online..."

"Lance," Keith said, as they stood in the ankle-deep water. Lance looked over at him. This time, when he kissed Lance, he didn't jerk away and spit, and Lance closed his eyes and melted against Keith, arms going around him.

After a solid minute of this Shiro coughed into his hand politely, and when that didn't elicit a response, said firmly, " _guys._ "

"Oh good, Lance's not dead," Pidge's voice came over Shiro's communicator, as he was the only one still actually wearing his helmet.

The green lion and Hunk's yellow lion set down on the beach opposite the red and black lions. Their landing blew sand every which way, which Keith and Lance had to shield their faces for. "What about the blue lion?" Hunk asked. "We can't form Voltron if the blue lion is out of commission!"

"Well you'll have to think of something," Allura said over their communicators. "Can someone tell Lance to put on his helmet so I can walk him through a manual reboot of his lion's systems?"

"Better yet, I can do it," Pidge said, exiting her lion. She ran across the sand toward them. "We won't have a lot of time before the Galran battleship starts deploying actual soldiers at us." She drew up short, because Lance and Keith still had their arms around each other, although they had stopped kissing they were both soaked with seawater. "Ugh," Pidge said, looking at them, and wrinkled her nose.

"Hey," Keith said. "I'm allowed to kiss my boyfriend!" Lance turned very pink.

Shiro coughed again, although this time it was clearly to cover a relieved laugh.

Pidge made another, long groaning noise and gestured at the blue lion. "Come on, Lance," she said. "Let's reboot your lion and see if we can get its systems online." She tapped the side of her helmet. “Where do we start, Princess?”


	30. Chapter 30

“Oh my god,” Pidge said, one hand covering the bottom half of her face. “I thought it was  _Hunk_ who had the motion sickness.”

It wasn’t really as bad as Pidge was making it out to be, Lance knew, but it was still a little bit gross. It’s not like the lions came equipped with barf bags, after all. “Okay, _you_ try riding your lion down with all external systems out and internal compensation shot with full G-forces and spin, and see how smug you are _then._ ”

“No thank you,” Pidge said, as she climbed around and imposed on Lance’s space in the pilot’s chair. “Let’s get your lion rebooted so that we can get a full diagnostic going. If you’re grounded we’re going to have to figure out a way to take on a full Galran battleship without Voltron.” She was matter-of-fact about it, but to Lance it felt like a targeted attack.

“Yeah, sure,” he said as she touched a few buttons on the virtual display. “Whatever.”

Pidge hesitated, leaning over his lap. “You risked yourself to save me and the Clawomians,” she said. The way she was tilted Lance couldn’t see Pidge’s face.

“No need to thank me,” Lance said with a light tone, puffing out his chest a bit.

Pidge tilted back and smacked Lance with a closed fist in the arm. “You can’t just sacrifice yourself like that, you have to think about the team!”

Lance blinked a little at that. “I _was_ thinking about the team,” he said truthfully.

Pidge stared at him hard through the visor of her helmet, brows pulled together in a thoughtful frown. Then she looked away and tapped the side of her helmet as if that helped hear Allura’s voice easier. “We’re both in the cockpit,” she reported. “Lance barfed all over the controls but I think we can still make things work.”

He couldn’t hear Allura’s response, as his helmet was sitting on the floor in need of a cleaning. “Barfed,” Pidge repeated. “He vomited all over the controls. Yes, ew.” Pidge looked back at Lance and grinned. “Yes, he’ll wash the blue lion out from stem to stern when we get back to the ship. After a very long shower. Yeah, okay.”

Lance folded his arms in the seat as Pidge leaned over him again and started pressing buttons. Hunk climbed in to the cockpit behind them. “How’s it going in here – _whoa_ ,” he said.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Lance leaned back and looked at Hunk. “Especially not from y _ou_. _You_ threw up in the simulator.”

“Yeah, but not in my _lion_ ,” Hunk was aghast. He too had removed his helmet, the long tails of his bandana flipped forward over his shoulder. “Shiro wanted to see you for a moment, if you aren’t needed.”

“He’s not going anywhere for a bit,” Pidge said. “Lance, try to talk to your lion.”

“Right now?” Lance said, and Pidge pressed two buttons at the same time and nodded. “Out loud?”

“ _Lance,_ ” Pidge said, sounding quite frustrated.

“Okay, okay,” Lance said, and cleared his throat. “Um, hi, girl,” he said awkwardly, and Hunk rolled his eyes and snorted. “What, do you think _you_ could do better?” Lance snapped, looked up at him.

“Talk to the lion like you talk to Keith,” Hunk suggested and grinned when Lance rolled  _his_ eyes.

“Yeah, because _that_ won’t end with all of us ejected into the ocean,” Lance retorted.

“Not like _that_ ,” Pidge said, and grinned a grin that could only be described as malicious. “How do you talk to him when it’s just you two? You know. _Alone._ ”

Lance snorted. “I don’t need _you_ to tell me how to talk to my lion. I’m just nervous with you guys hanging here and making fun of me.” He inhaled and closed his eyes. He remembered that beat, that single beat of a moment during training where he connected with his lion before he lost that connection, and tried to pull at it again. “C'mon, buddy,” he said softly, eyes still closed tight and hands resting on the flight controls. “Talk to me…”

* * *

Shiro stood on the beach, well away from the waves with Keith. Keith sat in the dune grass, his hair still wet and matted to his head, helmet in his hands. They were both looking skyward, waiting quietly. “There doesn’t seem to be any civilization on this world,” Coran’s report had come through Shiro’s earpiece. “No remnants of culture, either.”

“At least we don’t have to worry about any one or thing getting hurt,” Shiro said, his eyes on the sky. Keith spun his helmet between his fingers, staring down at it. The paladin armor was more or less waterproof, so while his wet hair clung to the back of his neck, it didn’t drip down any further than that. Keith spun around his helmet one more time, and spoke without looking up.

“You were going to let the Galra take you.”

Even without looking over at Shiro, he could tell that he physically reacted to the words. “What?” Shiro said, stunned.

“The tractor beam didn’t disable my lion,” Keith said, eyes still on the helmet dangling between his hands. “I couldn’t move, not until the drones started breaking up the beam’s pull; but my comms and sensors and everything were open and unaffected.” He looked up finally, at Shiro – and Shiro had turned to look away, toward the ocean. “So either you were going to surrender, or you panicked.”

Shiro heaved a heavy sigh. “Is that what you want to hear?”

“Not particularly,” Keith said. He stood up and tucked his helmet under his left arm, and turned to face Shiro properly. “You didn’t have to offer yourself as bait. We could have come up with a different plan. Hunk or I could have done the same. You don’t have to put yourself in that situation-” Keith touched Shiro’s shoulder, and he flinched away for a moment. “ _Shiro_ ,” Keith said softly.

Shiro took off his helmet – whatever he wanted to say he didn’t want broadcast over the open communications channel. “I can’t panic,” he said without looking at Keith. “I _can’t._ I can’t be the head of Voltron and freeze up like that, there are too many people counting on me for this.”

This time when Keith’s hand touched Shiro’s shoulder, he didn’t flinch away. Keith gripped his shoulder hard, although he figured that Shiro couldn’t really feel it through the armor. He didn’t say anything really, because he didn’t know _what_ to say, but just squeezed and hoped that Shiro could understand through this connection everything he couldn’t put to words. Shiro lifted his head and smiled in a pained way at Keith, and Keith felt the expression curl into his chest and harden.

With absolutely no warning, the blue lion jerked suddenly and flung itself upright and half into the air before slamming down into a crouch in the water and letting out a roar. Shiro and Keith startled apart, and Keith’s bayard was in his hand in reaction to the interruption, but they both heard Pidge’s distressed yells through their helmets, loud enough to be clearly identifiable without their helmets on their heads.

“Looks like Lance has got his lion up and running,” Shiro said unnecessarily, as Keith tucked his bayard away. The blue lion crouched down low to the surf, and Pidge and Hunk both tumbled out of its open mouth, Lance not far behind, dropping into the shallow water, helmet in his hand. They watched him rinse his helmet out a few times, then jog up the beach behind Hunk and Pidge.

“That didn’t take as long as I thought,” Shiro said.

“Yeah, well, if you were in a cockpit that stank of puke you’d pull double-time too,” Pidge said, and rubbed her hand under her nose.

“The Galra haven’t made a move yet, have they?” Hunk asked, and Shiro reached up and settled his helmet back on his head, to confirm with Allura that the Galra ship was remaining in far orbit of the planet.

“They’re probably scanning the planet for us,” Lance said. “Even a massive battleship’s sensors takes a little bit to scan an entire  _planet_.”

“Or I destroyed their antenna to scan,” Hunk said proudly.

Pidge nodded her assent. “I don’t know that that’s it,” Shiro said, after confirming with Allura that the battleship hadn’t deployed any additional ships. “It’s strange – especially if you destroyed that particular sensor array on the outside of the ship, they would at least deploy a scout ship to see what we’re doing planetside. I don’t like it.”

“So what’s the plan, then?” Lance asked, holding his helmet upside down and shaking it, trying to dry it that way. “We load up, form Voltron, smash the crippled ship into pieces and exit the system with the Clawomians in tow?”

Pidge shook her head. “The Clawomians mean to stay here. This is a good planet, away from the fighting. Nrr said as much.”

“It wouldn’t work anyway,” Hunk said, and everyone looked at him. “If we destroy the ship, then any Galrans that evacuate land planet-side. That’s trouble for the Clawomians.”

“If their communications system is operational, they would have transmitted our location, and that of the Clawomians,” Keith said. “They can’t stay here.”

“The Clawomians weren’t their target,” Shiro said. “We were. That’s why they didn’t shoot down the clearly disabled ship. They wanted us _here_.”

Everyone grew quiet. “So what do we do?” Hunk asked.

“We form Voltron,” Shiro said. “We take down the ship, or drive it back. We’ll deal with the rest as it comes.”

Everyone nodded and pulled on their helmets. Lance stuck his hand out in the middle of them. “Go Team Voltron!” he said enthusiastically.

After a moment, Hunk put his hand on top of Lance’s. Pidge followed suit, and after hesitating, Shiro and finally Keith did as well. “Go Team Voltron,” Shiro said with a smile, and then everyone said it, overlapping, and louder than the last. “Everyone to their lions,” Shiro ordered. “We have a Galra ship to bring down!”


	31. Chapter 31

"It does appear that Hunk's strafing run did quite a lot of damage to the top half of the battleship," Coran reported over the open communications channel, from behind Allura. The video feed had reestablished with the jammer signal destroyed, and Allura was looking forward, at the display of all five paladins in their cockpits. "There have been no broadcasts of any sort -- at least, that we can detect – since the sensor arrays were destroyed."

"Way to go, Hunk!" Lance called with enthusiasm over the comm. Everyone congratulated Hunk over the channel, and Hunk beamed a bit. Allura smiled despite herself.

"That means not even a distress call could have gone through, right?" Pidge asked, leaned forward in her seat.

"We can't know for certain," Allura said.

"We have to assume that the ship broadcast its position and intentions back to the empire before it engaged us," Shiro said firmly. The five lions had exited the atmosphere of the planet in a hurry, flying in tight formation.

"You must form Voltron," Allura said. "Quickly!"

"You guys heard the princess," Shiro said into the comm. "Let's do this, on my mark!"

They'd had a little practice, by now – it still wasn't as smooth a transition as Allura knew it could be, as she watched the multitude of displays scattered across the forward viewscreen, but the five paladins were once again able to form Voltron, not far from the atmosphere of the planet below them. Much larger than any of the single lions, of course, the humanoid-shaped mecha flew toward the still-larger Galra battleship, the red paladin's sword in hand.

"There are still undamaged plasma cannons along the belly of the ship," Allura said, as the Galran battleship turned slowly in space, exposing the bottom of the ship to the incoming war machine. "The best course of action would be to take out the engines first."

"I agree," Shiro said. "Hunk?"

"On it!" Hunk reported, bayard in his hand. He jammed his bayard into its appropriate slot, and in a twinkling the red paladin's sword had changed into the yellow paladin's cannon.

The active plasma cannons on the Galra battleship began to engage directly. "Hey guys," Lance said. "I don't know about you but I'm _really_ not cool with getting shot down for the second time today."

"Shield up!" Shiro ordered, and as one Voltron moved, bringing its shield to bear and keeping as much of its mass behind the particle barrier shield.

It was some effort to maneuver Voltron while keeping the shield up and as much of it behind the shield as possible, but the volleys of plasma fire were non-stop. "The Galran ship's energy output is increasing," Pidge reported. She jerked her head up and stared out at the forward viewscreen. "The engines are powering up!"

Voltron shot up above the ship, counteracting its yaw. It twisted, aiming Hunk's cannon at the engines from above the ship, and fired off two shots before having to dodge more plasma bolts. The first shot struck the engines solidly, but the other missed and wildly shot off into space beyond.

The angle of the ship had changed drastically, it was pointed away from the planet now, tearing itself free of the gravity well and headed toward deep space. "It's going to run!" Keith said. "What do we do, Shiro?"

After a split second's decision, Shiro said, "let it run," just before the ship surged forward and away. Voltron hung back in space as the Galran battleship accelerated quickly, building up steam for a warp jump away.

"What are you doing!?" Allura yelled through the comm. "You're letting it get away!"

"We don't have the resources to deal with that many Galrans by hand," Shiro said. "It's sensors were damaged badly, if they're making a warp jump without active sensors they run the risk of going straight through a star."

"So we won?" Lance said.

"Seems like it," Hunk said. "We chased them off!"

"I don't know if you'd call that _winning_ ," Keith said.

"They're gone, we're still here, and the Clawomians are alive," Pidge said. "I'd call that a win."

"I would too," Shiro said. "Let's head back planet side and make sure that the Clawomians are unharmed. Princess?"

"I'll join you," Allura said, face furrowed into a frown. She shut off the display that projected her image to the paladins in their cockpits and folded her arms, staring off into the starfield; where the Galran ship was just a tiny blur barely perceptible against the other pin pricks of light, and Voltron itself indistinguishable. "Take the castle into orbit," she instructed Coran. Slowly, the castle ship headed toward the habitable planet below.

 

* * *

 

"This planet does not have a name in the castle's registry," Allura said, standing on the rocky soil outside the Clawomian's downed cargo ship. "No name, nor registration. I do believe you are its first settlers, councilor Dkkr."

The Clawomian councilor bowed slightly, fur a deep vermillion. "Honor ours, Princess." Dkkr waved his only three-fingered hand at the gathered Clawomians, nearly a hundred in number. "Many thanks, paladins. People safe."

Shiro stood beside Allura, a bit behind her. They all still wore their helmets despite the breathable atmosphere simply for communication's sake, because there was no way that the click-whistle dialect of the Clawomians was something that they would be able to easily understand otherwise. He watched the assembled people, shades of reds and browns and pinks, as the other paladins stood among them and spoke to them.

"I want you to have this," Allura said to Dkkr, holding out a small remote. "It's a communicators device linked to the castle. If the Galran ever return here, do not hesitate to call us."

A smaller Clawomian with lighter pink fur stepped forward and accepted the remote with both hands, before bowing almost double and scooting back. The one-armed Clawomian counciler bowed as well. "Multiple honor, Altean princess."

"It is our honor to serve the people of this galaxy," Allura said kindly. "And to protect it from all that we can."

Shiro smiled at that and folded his arms. The Clawomians had built a fire in the scar from their ship's rocky descent, and Lance was sitting on a log beside it, helmet off and surrounded by young, fledgling Clawomians. Shiro started to turn to walk to him but then hesitated as Keith approached Lance, trailed by more of the Clawomians. He watched Keith rest his hand on Lance's shoulder, and Lance look up at Keith with a grin and say something that earned him a hard shove.

Allura straightened from a bow she had given to the Dkkr. She looked back at Shiro and saw his destruction. "You can go to them," she said softly, half-turning to face him, and Shiro looked at her, surprised. "You clearly want to," Allura added, and Shiro turned away from the bonfire.

"It's complicated," Shiro said after a moment, avoiding Allura's direct gaze. "I think I'll walk around a bit, and stretch my legs.

"Isn't it always," she murmured, as Shiro walked off, deliberately, in the opposite direction.

* * *

 

On board the castle-ship, in the currently quiet training room, the memory core stood alone in the corner, set gently on a small pedestal. Along the bottom of the column the foreign script lit gold, glowing softly in the dim room, before tracing from gold to white and back to gold again.

Two of the Altean mice who were snooping through a dirty bowl that Pidge had left sitting beside her laptop lifted their heads at the same time, eyes growing wide as they watched the colored script light up concurrently, tracing up the column in wisps of yellow followed by white before vanishing.

The third time it pulsed color, the script lit up in violet.

The mice squeaked in alarm, and vacated the training room.

  


  



	32. Chapter 32

Sleeping didn't seem to be an option, Lance realized, after lying awake on his back for a solid few hours. He climbed wearily out of bed – Keith didn't stir, curled upon his side and facing the wall, not even touching him – and pulled on his shirt and pants.

Every time he closed his eyes he was spinning out again in near pitch-black, cockpit and forward screens dark, the only light coming from the paladin suit itself. It made him dizzy and sick to his stomach, and even the exhaustion of the last two days rolled into one didn't mean he was able to nod off.

No one else was up and about. He stopped by the kitchens and grabbed something to drink, and then decided that since he was up he might as well scrub out the cockpit of the blue lion; except by the time he got to the flight bay with a bucket of warm sudsy water and a handful of rags a weird, hard feeling had built up in his throat and was making it difficult to breathe, so he sat down on the floor next to the bucket and put his hand in his hair.

It was almost a little like the feeling he'd tucked away and purposely ignored when he had discovered that his hero and now leader was also an alpha. Lance didn't like this feeling at all.

The sound of the doors to the blue lion's flight bay opening made him open his eyes, then raise his head from his hand. "Lance?" Shiro's voice called. "What are you doing up? It's the middle of the night, you should be racked out like everyone else."

Lance leaned back on one arm, half-turned in place as Shiro crossed the flight bay's floor in an easy stride. "What are _you_ doing up?" Lance asked instead, avoiding Shiro's questions completely.

"Can't sleep," Shiro said honestly. "Too keyed up still. What are you doing?"

"I was gonna clean my lion," Lance said, arm loosely on his bent knee. "But now I'm just ..." he shrugged and didn't finish the thought.

"Want some help?" Shiro asked, offering Lance his hand. After a moment, Lance nodded his head and let Shiro help pull him to his feet.

 

* * *

 

It wasn't really as bad as Pidge had made it out to be, but it was a bit difficult to clean the cramped cockpit area especially with two people wiggling around inside. Lance worked in silence, occasionally glancing over at Shiro, who was quiet as well.

After a while – Lance couldn't really judge the passage of time without checking his chrono every so often – Shiro sighed and sat back on his heels. "Has Keith talked to you?" he asked, dropping the rag back into the bucket they had dragged with them.

Lance looked up. "What, about you?"

Shiro seemed surprised by his response. "Yeah?"

Lance shrugged loosely. "Not really, I guess? I mean, I kinda knew that he was gonna go after you like that getting _in_ to this thing with him, so it's kind of unspoken." Lance frowned. "We should really discuss it in depth at some point. That boy needs help with his communication skills."

When he glanced over at Shiro, Shiro wasn't looking at him but he was smiling. "That's an understatement," he said, amused. "But, that's not quite what I was referring to."

"Oh." Lance dropped a dirty rag into the bucket and stretched his arms out in front of himself, then climbed into the pilot's chair and stretched his arms. "Then what is he supposed to talk to me about?"

Shiro shook his head. "He said he wanted to talk to you first. It's really nothing important." Lance folded his arms and thought about this, while Shiro cleaned up the rest of the rags, and then said, "an alpha hurt you, and I don't want to do the same."

This was not something Lance expected Shiro to say, at all, and he cocked his head and half-turned in his seat. "What?" he said, clearly not processing this as he looked over at Shiro.

"I meant," Shiro realized he had said too much and Lance could see it on his face. "I mean, I've scared you and everything in these past few weeks, and I didn't mean to." He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "I want to be someone that the entire team can count on, and trust," he said finally. "I feel like I've let you down recently, especially with my behavior toward you while Keith was in heat, and ... I don't want you to think that's the way I'm going to be."

Lance shook his head slowly. "I'm not afraid of you," he said. "I've had some bad things happen and I have a knee-jerk reaction sometimes, but I know I can trust you."

Shiro smiled a little sadly. "I'm glad," he said. He moved to stand up, sitting the way he was in the cramped cockpit was the opposite of comfortable. Lance was still watching him though, brow furrowed. "Are you coming?" Shiro asked, nodding toward the exit, and Lance shook his head.

"Nah," he said. "If I go back to bed I'll wake Keith up, and I wanted to run some practice simulations on Blue's flight software."

Shiro nodded his head, and smiled again – less sad, this time, although Lance wasn't quite sure why. "Make sure you get some sleep," he said, and clapped Lance on the shoulder, before he ducked through the hatch and headed for the exit of the lion.

Lance folded his arms again, tilted his head back in to the pilot's seat and closed his eyes. That was a weird conversation.

 

* * *

 

He hadn't meant to fall asleep in the pilot's seat, but he did. Lance opened his eyes and groaned when he felt the finger poke into the side of his face again, and when he cracked open his eyes it was Keith leaning over the pilot's seat. "What d'you want," Lance mumbled, one eye still closed and thinking about dozing right back off again.

"I've been looking for you all morning," Keith said. "Shiro finally said you might still be in here, what the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Lance said, brushing Keith's fingers back and yawning. "Lemme sleep."

"If you want to sleep there's a perfectly good bed in your quarters," Keith said.

" _Our_ quarters," Lance mumbled.

"What the hell are you doing in here anyway?" Keith said, draping his arm over the back of the pilot's seat.

Lance sighed loudly and opened both his eyes, clearly recognizing that he was not going to be allowed to doze back off. "Look, I spun out, okay? It freaked me out bad, and I decided I needed to stay in here for a bit when my life _wasn't_ in immediate danger so I don't freak out the next time it happens. Does that bother you?"

He glared up at Keith, and then blinked when Keith's expression softened a bit at the edges. "Oh," he said softly. "I didn't even think about that, I'm sorry."

"Did you just..." Lance blinked. " _Apologize_ to me?"

"Well ... yeah?" Keith said, sounding confused.

"Today is really weird," Lance rubbed his hands over his face.

"Did you want any help?"

Now Lance lifted his hands and shot Keith a puzzled look. "I don't see how you could _help_ with this," he started to say, and then Keith put his hand to the side of Lance's face and turned it up just slightly so he could kiss him. Lance blinked a little, then responded to the kiss.

"That's a good thing," Keith breathed when they finally parted. "To think about in here, right?"

"I don't know if it's a good thing to think _about_ ," he said breathlessly. "I can't be getting boners flying into combat, but it is nice."

Keith's grin had gone wicked. "Did my kiss give you a boner?"

Lance put one hand over his pants. "I'm going to have to decline to answer that," he said smartly, and then Keith pulled his face forward and kissed him again, deeper this time. "Well, let's just fix that, shall we?" he said, and slung himself around the pilot's chair.

"Fix it how?" Lance asked, although he had a good indication as to _how_ when Keith arranged himself between Lance's spread knees and leaned forward, tugging at the catch on Lance's pants. "Wait, are you serious, right now?"

"Even you can't be that dumb," Keith said with a snort, and Lance shrugged, wide-eyed as Keith made good on this bluff, pulling his pants down enough to have access, and sighing excitedly when Lance's cock was already mostly hard. "Don't you dare make a mess," he said, as he licked it.

"Where am I supposed to come, then?" Lance asked, already breathing a little hard, flush painting his face red.

"Smart ass," Keith said, as Lance leaned forward and curled his hands into Keith's hair.

  



	33. Chapter 33

Lance ran his fingers through Keith's hair. It wasn't quite as soft as it looked, hair dark and fine and messy, but it was long enough for him to tangle his fingers in and brush it back, away from Keith's violet eyes. He wet his lips and exhaled; the look that Keith was giving him was making it hard for him to breathe.

"I thought you were gonna swallow," Lance said finally, and Keith gripped his thigh punishingly hard, then swiped his thumb across the bridge of his nose, where a good portion of the slick white fluid had ended up. Then, defiantly, still making eye contact, Keith stuck the same thumb into his mouth and licked it clean.

" _Fuck_ ," Lance whispered.

Keith stood up carefully, standing slightly bent over in front of the pilot's chair. He put his hand on the back of the seat and loomed over Lance, breathing hard. Lance stared up at him, eyes wide. Tentatively, he put a hand on Keith's hip, and Keith moved in closer, put one knee outside of Lance's thigh, and the other hand went to his belt.

"Suck me," Keith ordered raggedly, pulling his pants open.

Lance's breath caught in his throat. There was something about the way that Keith said that, the harsh bark of his order as his cock popped out of his underwear that sent a trill of something unrecognizable down Lance's spine. He touched Keith's cock with one hand, thumb rubbing across the hot head and stroking down the shaft slowly.

Keith leaned in closer still, one knee on the seat, one hand on the back of the seat and the other holding the base of his cock, Lance's hand brushing his. Slowly Lance leaned in close, tilted forward until he could smell Keith's musk, before he gathered himself and took the head of Keith's cock into his mouth.

It was a bit of an awkward angle, with the way Lance was sitting, but he made it work somehow. There wasn't any exposed skin to kiss, or tease, or try to make Keith come undone any faster than just his cock, and that was a pity. "I'm gonna take you back to the room," Lance said as he pulled off of Keith with a wet pop. "And fuck you into the mattress."

"We'll see," Keith said raggedly, and Lance could see the sweat that had gathered in his hairline when he looked up. "We'll see who's gonna fuck _who._ "

He teased the slit with his tongue. "You're acting like you'll have anything left when I'm through here," he said with a wicked grin, and his eyes darted up to meet Keith's when Keith's hand landed on the back of his head, palm firmly gripping his skull.

"I wanna fuck your mouth," Keith said heavily. "Hold still for me."

That same strange feeling curled around into Lance's stomach this time. He drew back just a little and stared at Keith's cock, then nodded his head. "Slow," he cautioned, as he opened his mouth to swallow Keith down. "Go slow."

Keith did go slow, and Lance shuddered as the head of Keith's cock hit the back of his throat. He'd never taken anything this deep before and Lance clutched at Keith's thighs, then slid his hands around to grip his ass. He wouldn't panic, he could pull off of Keith's cock at any moment if he felt uncomfortable but he wasn't, not really. He was just overwhelmed, and vulnerable like this.

The tremors that ran up and down Keith's torso at the strain of moving slow were clearly obvious. After a long enough time that Lance's jaw was sore he drew off of Keith's cock and looked up at him, angrily swiping his hand along the bottom of his mouth, slick with fluids. "Are you any closer to coming?" he demanded, and Keith grabbed his head firmly and guided him back onto his cock.

This time the rhythm was faster. Lance could only hang on, his eyes going half closed as Keith rocked into him. Keith had started making little groaning noises and they were music to Lance, a prelude leading to a crescendo as Keith gave off a small, choked sob and forced his cock into Lance's mouth as far is it would go, shooting off almost directly down his throat.

Lance swallowed around him, again and again, until the tension in Keith's body ran out and he sagged back slightly, his cock sliding free from Lance's mouth. "Fuck," Keith said heavily, and Lance was very much inclined to agree.

 

* * *

 

"No, I want to hear about my insane cock-sucking skills again," Lance said cheekily, arms folded over the edge of the divider between the two shower stalls. There were suds in his hair, and his face was flushed a little from the heat of the spray. Keith was doing his level best not to look at nor engage Lance because his head was _still_ spinning, even now.

"I didn't say anything like that," he insisted, staring straight ahead at the tile behind the shower spray, hoping the hot water would wash away the memory of Lance lighting up like Christmas as Keith muttered something he probably shouldn't have said about his mouth.

"You said, and I quote: 'fuck Lance, your mouth is fucking amazing, do that to me again.' End quote." Lance used his fingers to mark the quotations in the sentence before folding his arms over the divider again. "You didn't even say _please._ Pushy, much?"

"I am not gonna ask you to blow me again," Keith insisted, ears pink. _At least not until you've forgotten this._

Lance waved a hand in the air dismissively and continued to stare at Keith instead of rinsing the shampoo from his hair. He tilted forward a little, head cocked. "Shiro said that you had something you wanted to talk to me about," he said and Keith lurched in place, broadsided by the sudden change in topic. "About him."

"Shiro said that?" Keith maintained eye contact with the tile.

Lance said, suddenly calm, "Keith, look at me." Keith looked over to Lance's unusually serious face. "Did you change your mind, and choose Shiro instead?"

"I already told you I'm choosing both of you," Keith said.

"Yet you're now sleeping in my bed and constantly with me. When, exactly, are you gonna do the ~nasty~ with Shiro?" Lance leaned his elbow on the edge of the divider and put his chin in his hand.

Keith ducked his head under the spray for a moment. When he emerged, he turned to face Lance. "I talked to Shiro about it," he said. "I know you're kinda ... not really keen on the idea of alphas, but, maybe we could try to make it the three of us? Together?"

Lance didn't remove his chin from his hand as he stared at Keith. "The three of us," he repeated.

"Yeah."

"Together."

"Yeah..." Keith trailed off, eyes narrowed as he looked at Lance. Lance's expression hadn't really changed, and he couldn't tell if that was good or bad or not.

"So you're saying I get to watch Shiro fuck you." Lance dragged that out a bit. "That I would get to watch him knot you."

Keith hadn't even considered that. He knew, in abstract, the way that alphas and omegas copulated was different than any other combination, but he hadn't stopped to actually _think_ about it. "Yeah," Keith said, a little strangled. "And he could you, too ... if you wanted."

Lance actually blanched a little at that, and Keith turned fully under the water. "You don't have to do _anything_ that you don't want to," he added firmly. He stepped over to the divider where Lance was leaning. "I mean it," he said.

"You already talked to Shiro about this," Lance said, and it wasn't a question. "What were you planning to do when I said no, I didn't want to do that?"

Keith chewed his bottom lip, because he truthfully hadn't thought about that possibility. "Then we just would have continued doing what we are now, except I would spend more time with Shiro, I guess."

He saw the pull of emotion on Lance's face, and recognized jealousy there. "Yeah, I don't want that," he said. "I don't really know if I want anything to do with Shiro like that," he looked away and was turning a deeper pink than the hot water was doing for him. "But I do kinda wanna watch you guys at it, that sounds really fucking hot."

Keith leaned in real close, putting one hand over Lance's on the divider. "Thanks, Lance," he said softly, and Lance snorted and let Keith kiss him. "Let's talk to Shiro."

 

* * *

 

"All right," Pidge said, slamming the door into the locker room. "Which one of you chucklefucks messed with my systems setup?"

Lance had let out a delicate shriek at the door being slammed open and yanked his robe closed. Keith was sitting on the bench between the row of lockers that fed into the showers, clad simply in his underwear. He looked at Lance, having jumped slightly at his rather high-pitched scream, and then to Pidge. "I haven't touched anything," he said truthfully.

"I've been in my lion since yesterday," Lance said. "You can check the logs."

"Well _someone_ messed with the computer software I've got set up to run my diagnostics on the memory core," Pidge said. "It wasn't me or Hunk, and I _know_ Shiro isn't gonna fuck with it, so that leaves you two geniuses."

Lance gave a partial shrug. "Maybe it was the mice."

"Yeah," Pidge scoffed. "The _mice_ did it."

"Pidge, it really wasn't us," Keith said. "I swear it."

Pidge propped her hands on her hips. "Well, I guess the computer software just upped and rewrote itself to unplug from the memory core, because _that's what freaking happened._ " She shot both of them a glare, and then turned around. "Whatever, now I gotta start all over. You two can get back to fucking or whatever." She waved her hand and stormed out of the locker room.

"Just when I think today can't get any stranger," Lance commented, and Keith shook his head. He wasn't about to tempt fate any further.

 


	34. Chapter 34

They found Shiro in the training room, using the regular old earth-style exercise equipment to lift weights. Pidge and Hunk were off in the corner doing questionable things in the name of science, or something, Lance wasn't really paying much attention to them anyway and they were fucking with the memory core and if Lance never ever had to deal with the memory core ever again it would be too fucking soon.

"I talked to Lance," Keith said, as if Lance wasn't standing right beside him, a step back. Lance rolled his eyes and groaned – for fuck's sake, Keith was still _holding his hand._ He didn't yank it away to fold his arms even though he really desperately wanted to, because Shiro was sitting on a bench right in front of him wearing a tight black tee shirt that was like a second skin, and Lance felt like he should have that barrier of his crossed arms between them. It took a lot to disregard that creeping feeling, because it wasn't _uncomfortable_ , he wasn't _scared_ of Shiro ... but he felt like he should have a buffer all the same.

"Did you," Shiro said in an amused tone, his eyes flitting to Lance's face before looking back to Keith.

"Yeah," Lance said, and pulled his hand free from Keith's, giving in to the need to cross his arms, to close himself off. The vulnerability frustrated him, and he glanced across the large open space of the room, expecting to see Pidge and Hunk watching them closely. "I'm willing to try this out," he said finally. "I don't know how far I'm comfortable with going and stuff, but..." he looked at Keith, who was watching him, and he shrugged loosely, arms still folded. "I'll give it a shot."

Shiro's expression was not quite what he expected. "I don't want you to feel pressured into anything, Lance."

"I don't feel pressured," Lance snapped back quicker than he intended, voice going a bit louder than. He shook his head once to clear it, then tried again. "I'm not afraid of you," he said firmly. "Keith trusts you, and I..." he trailed off and looked at Keith, who was staring at him with a surprised expression. "I trust Keith's judgment," Lance said finally.

" _Wow_ ," Keith said, eyes wide. "Can you say that again? I want to get that on a recording."

"In _this,_ " Lance clarified. "I still think you have shit judgment elsewhere."

"That's not what you said, you can't just modify it how you please," Keith said. "You said you _trust_ me!" He gloated over this, looking quite pleased, and Lance's face turned pink. He turned toward Keith and shoved him, one hand in the center of his chest.

"Dick!" Lance said loudly. "You're a fucking asshole, Keith!"

"Ooooh," Pidge called from across the room. "Is that any way to talk to your _boyfriend_ , Lance?"

"Yeah," Keith said, with the smile tugging on the corners of his mouth as he repeated Pidge. "Is that any way to talk to your _boyfriend,_ Lance?"

"Don't you dare gang up on me," Lance said, then half turned and pointed a finger at Shiro. "Don't _you_ say it, too!"

Shiro shrugged loosely, a mischievous expression forming on his face. "Well," he said. "Maybe I don't want you talking that way to _my_ boyfriend, did you think about that?"

"I've changed my mind, you two can have each other," Lance said, and waved his hand in the air sarcastically. "I'm out." He turned around and marched decisively toward where Pidge and Hunk were working on the memory core. "Hey Pidge, wanna date me?"

Pidge said, without looking up from her computer, "I'm gay."

"Hunk? Buddy?"

Hunk held up his hands. "I, tragically, am not gay."

"Fuck," Lance said, and put his hands on his hips. "I guess I'm stuck, then."

 

* * *

 

Hunk held up one of the burned sensors so that Keith could lean forward and see it, even if he didn't quite understand what it meant. "They're all like this," Hunk explained. He was sitting on the floor in front of the memory core, severing the burned sensor patches from the wire and hooking up new sensors, one at a time. "It's like they all got burned off the face of the memory core. But the monitoring system didn't notice any spikes in power or temperature before that occurred, and in fact still read as connected for a while after the burn, as far as we can tell. Right, Pidge?"

"Right," Pidge said without looking up from her laptop.

"That's strange," Keith said.

"Nothing about this thing obeys any laws of physics that _I_ know," Pidge grumbled. "I don't like it."

"So let's jettison it into space," Keith said, standing beside Hunk and looking it over.

Pidge's head shot up. "Are you out of your _mind_?" she said, scandalized.

Hunk shrugged at Keith. Keith leaned forward to peer at the writing on the monolith, and rested his hand on the strange runes. "It's not quite Galran," he said, brow furrowed, and Pidge and Hunk both _stared_ at him, as the letters lit slowly, highlighted in purple this time.

"Keith!" Hunk said urgently. "You're _touching it_!"

Keith stared down at Hunk, then realized his mistake and yanked his hand back and away. The purple glow lingered a moment longer before it faded out. All three of them stared at the memory core, then looked at each other.

"Well," Pidge said. " _That's_ new."

 

* * *

 

Lance sat down hard on the edge of his bed and buried his face in his hands. He hated this feeling, like acid roiling in his stomach. The way that Shiro had smiled, and looked at Keith, and said _my boyfriend_. The way that Keith had turned pink, a pleased expression on his face, like that's all he had been waiting to hear... Lance pressed his palms to his face, elbows on his knees, and _groaned._

He heard a knock at the door and was tempted to tell Keith to go fuck off back to Shiro, but then the door hissed open anyway because Keith didn't get how people worked and _maybe_ wanted to be left alone to work out their issues.

"Lance," Shiro's voice said, and he lifted his head in a violent jerk at the unexpected presence. "Can I come in?"

Shiro was standing in the doorway respectfully not intruding unless given the okay. Lance let out a long, shuddering sigh and then nodded his head, and Shiro stepped into the room enough so that the door could close behind him.

He stood in silence for a long while, observing. Then Shiro spoke. "You're not okay with this," he said, and stated it as a fact.

"I _am_ ," Lance snapped at him. "Believe it or not, I am _very_ much okay with the idea of it, so please stop acting like you know what's good or not for me." He folded his arms and glared at the opposite side of the quarters from where Shiro was standing.

There was another stretch of silence, before Shiro spoke again. "I didn't mean to presume," he said. "I'm sorry. Does this have anything to do with the fact that I'm an alpha?"

Lance let his hands drop between his legs, elbows still braced on his knees. He looked down at the floor. "I don't want to talk about that," he said calmly. He looked up a bit when Shiro moved, crossing the room and standing in front of Lance.

"May I sit?" he asked, and when Lance nodded his head, Shiro sat on the edge of the mattress beside him.

"I know I can trust you," Lance said without prompting, not looking at Shiro. "I _do_ trust you. I, just..." he trailed off and stared at his hands, still dangling between his legs, and shrugged his shoulders.

"There are no expectations with this," Shiro said. "None. You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with, Lance." He carefully extended his left arm and put it over Lance's shoulders, and when Lance didn't jerk away or even act startled, gently pulled him close.

Lance sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head against Shiro. "You called Keith _your_ boyfriend," he said softly.

Shiro brushed the fingers of his left hand into Lance's hair slowly. "If we're doing this," he said. "He would be." Shiro let the words hang in the air for a moment, before he tilted his head in close, so he could murmur into Lance's ear directly. "But you would be my boyfriend too, Lance."

He shivered in Shiro's arms, then the hint of a smile appeared on Lance's face. "I think I like that," Lance said, and he cracked his eyes open, to look up at Shiro, who smiled back. "Say it again."

"My boyfriend," Shiro said, and a slightly teasing note had entered his voice. "Lance is my boyfriend."

Lance shivered again under Shiro's arm, but his smile had grown. "Maybe I want my boyfriend to kiss me," he said, with no trace of hesitation.

Shiro did pause, but only for a moment. He touched Lance's face with his right hand, the Galra metal warm but hard as he turned Lance's face up to just the right angle and kissed him slowly. Lance turned in his arms just a bit, bracing his hands on Shiro's chest as they kept kissing, slow and deep.

When they parted, they both had healthy flushes across their faces. Lance tentatively touched the scar that crossed the bridge of Shiro's nose with his fingers, and then took back his hand. "Keith is a better kisser," he said after a moment, and Shiro blinked in surprise, then barked out a genuine laugh.

"I guess that means we just have to practice a lot," Shiro said, and brushed his hand into Lance's hair. "What do you think?"

"I like that plan a lot," Lance said. "Maybe we should work on it more now, while we're in the groove."

Shiro nodded and smiled, then kissed Lance again.

  


  



	35. Chapter 35

"Did you take a _shower?_ " Keith said when Lance sat down on the couch in the common room. Lance let out a long exhale, then looked over at Keith and grinned and raised his eyebrows. Keith groaned in disgust and rolled his eyes, then leaned back and kicked Lance in the thigh with his boot. "You're gross," he said.

"I'm wounded," Lance said, and caught Keith's foot before he could kick him again. "You're the one who eats ass and you call _me_ gross."

Keith turned bright red. "I, _you_ -" he sputtered. Lance still had his boot in both hands, so Keith aimed a kick with his free leg. Lance was too busy laughing now, as Keith's blush grew progressively darker. "You are _such_ an asshole," Keith seethed when he could finally put words together. Lance yanked on his foot and Keith yelped, sliding down the bench couch and smacking his head against the cushions. Lance hopped up quick as a whistle and put one hand on Keith's shoulder, keeping him pinned down to the couch.

"I know I'm an asshole," he said cheerfully, ducking his head in close to Keith's and smirking pretty heavily. "And you _love it._ "

Keith glared up at Lance. "I most certainly do _not_ love it when you're an asshole," he informed Lance, and shoved at his chest with both hand. "Did you fuck Shiro, is that why you took a shower? I saw him leave after you."

This time, it was Lance who turned an appropriate shade of pink. "I didn't," he said, and looked away.

"Yeah, I call bullshit," Keith said. "You're _way_ too happy and perky to have not gotten laid." Keith shoved at Lance again, having made no progress from the first onslaught. "I guess I should count myself lucky I can't smell him on you right now, because I don't know what would have happened otherwise."

Lance sat back on his heels while still straddling Keith, and rested his hands on his thighs. "We didn't fuck," he said insistently. "We just talked. And ... made out a little. But no sex."

"So why the shower then?" Keith challenged.

"I jerked off like, twice," Lance said with absolutely no shame. "Easier cleanup."

Keith gripped the front of Lance's shirt with both hands and pulled him down, so that they could kiss. "Next time come find me," Keith murmured into his mouth, and Lance bit his lip. Keith groaned and wiggled just a little, his hand sliding up over Lance's shoulder to the back of his head.

"Lance," Allura said from the elevated entrance to the common room, that ran along the back of the couches. Lance sat up quickly on his knees, Keith's hands falling from his shoulders. Lance ran a hand through his short, damp hair to settle it back down as he looked over at Allura, exuding false innocence.

"Yes, Princess?" he asked, charm turned on to full.

Allura walked to the edge of the couch, and then looked down at them. Keith had gone a deep shade of red, pinned in place by Lance straddling him. "Good afternoon, Keith," she said, folding her arms and expression unreadable.

"Uh, hi, Princess," Keith said.

"Did I catch you at an inopportune moment?" she asked sweetly.

"Not at all," Lance said.

"Good." She looked down at them. "I would like to remind you _both_ that the lions are connected to my life force." Lance looked blankly at Allura, but Keith got it right away, putting both of his hands over his face and groaning softly. "I can't believe you two. And then, out here on the couch, too!"

"We weren't gonna do anything _here_ ," Lance protested, and Allura pointed to the door.

"Both of you report to Coran in the training room immediately. I'm sure a few rounds with the level seven gladiator bot will get you over this _very_ quickly."

Lance leaned his head back and groaned loudly to the ceiling. "Ah, man. _Really?_ It's almost dinner time!"

"If you'd like me to make it two level seven gladiator bots," Allura said sweetly. Keith slammed the palm of his hand into Lance's solar plexus, and he doubled over and gasped.

"We're on our way," Keith said. "It won't happen again, Princess."

"See that it doesn't," Allura said, and then smiled. "If you see Shiro, send him my way? It's no rush."

"Got it," Keith said, as Lance wheezed and followed Keith, one arm clasped over his stomach.

 

* * *

 

Shiro was helping Hunk scrape dishes of goo into the sink when Lance and Keith staggered into the galley. They both were wearing their paladin suits and looked straight-up exhausted. "There you guys are," Hunk said with an exaggerated frown. "You missed dinner!"

"Paladins need food badly," Lance said, and came to rest against the island in the center of the galley. "Please say there's goo left over."

"There's always goo left over," Keith said in the same exhausted tone. "There's always goo. You know what there's not?"

"Cheeseburgers," Lance said.

"Cheeseburgers," Keith agreed.

Shiro laughed into his hand as Hunk rounded on them. "My goo is _much_ better than some of the other options," he said threateningly, and Lance leaned on the island and hung his head.

"I'm so hungry," he whined. "Hunk, cook for us, _please._ "

"We can cook for ourselves," Keith said. "Hunk, you don't have to-"

"Pleeeeease," Lance whined.

Shiro took the last load of soiled dishes to what amounted to a fancy spaceship dishwasher, which was part of the island that Lance was leaning into. He nudged Lance aside to load the dishes up, while Lance made puppy-dog eyes at Hunk and Keith just stood swaying in place.

"You could always call Coran to cook for you," Shiro suggested mildly, closing the soiled dishes in and straightening. This put him right behind Lance, and when Lance pushed himself upright his shoulders thumped right against Shiro's chest. Lance froze in place, eyes wide, as Shiro put his hands gently on Lance's waist.

"Let's not call Coran," Hunk said, his back to this as he wiped down the counters. "I can make something for them really quick, I like the practice."

Keith was watching Shiro and Lance with a very peculiar expression. Lance wasn't quite paying attention to him though, because Shiro's hands were On His Waist and he was very unsure how to feel about this. "Well, call me if you guys want dessert," Shiro said lightly, clearly making eye contact with Keith, who made a go at matching the red trim on his uniform. Shiro squeezed Lance's waist once, then released him and headed out of the galley.

"We don't usually _have_ dessert," Hunk muttered, his back still to the whole situation. Lance and Keith just stared at each other with matching, incredulous blushes.

 

* * *

 

Keith's blush did not fade at all during the meal. Hunk did _something_ with the goo that made it much tastier than coming straight from the spigot, and Lance inhaled his plate full in record time. "Do you need some water or something?" he asked Keith, who was staring down at a half-eaten plate of goo. "Or nunavill? Something?"

"I'm fine," Keith said.

"You're not fine, you're beet red."

Keith inhaled slowly. "How quickly do heats come around?"

Lance put down his utensil and leaned forward, staring at Keith in the seat beside him. "Dude, it's only been like – what, not even three weeks? That is _way_ too fast." He shook his head. "Unless you're irregular, _fuck_ , don't be irregular that will mess with _my_ heats and then I'll have to kick your ass." He sighed dramatically. "Did your heat start again?"

"I don't think so," Keith said. "I just feel a little funny."

"You landed on your head like, three times."

"The helmet took most of those hits." Keith waved his hand in the air and stared at his food, refusing to make eye contact with Lance. "It doesn't feel like it did when my heat started the last time, so I don't think it's that."

"Good." Lance leaned over and swiped a big spoon full of the goo remaining on Keith's plate. "We don't want you sending Shiro into a rut when we just started this whole thing." He reached for another bite, but Keith smacked his hand and he withdrew. "What, _you're_ not eating it."

"After we eat I'm gonna shower," Keith said, still red-faced. He glanced up to catch Lance's eye. "Then I'm gonna go see Shiro."

Lance hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, have fun."

"Lance," Keith said. "Come with me."

Now Lance turned red again, and slumped back in his chair. "That's moving _really fast_ , man. Really, _really_ fast."

"You don't want to?" Keith asked, and Lance flushed a little harder and looked away.

"I _do_ ," he said quietly.

"Then we'll go together, and if you're uncomfortable," Keith shrugged. "We'll leave."

Lance covered the bottom half of his face with a hand and laughed, then leaned forward and to the side, scooping another bite of Keith's goo before he could be stopped. "Sounds good to me," he said, and licked his spoon.

  



	36. Chapter 36

Lance grew a little pale when he saw the size of Shiro's dick. "That is insane," he said flatly, as Keith knelt between Shiro's legs. "How do you even get that into your _pants?_ "

Shiro shrugged loosely, one hand resting gently on Keith's head, as Keith stroked him. "It doesn't normally go into my pants when hard," he said, matter-of-fact, and Lance went from pale to a bright cherry red, because Shiro was looking at him and talking normally despite the fact that Keith was stroking him slowly and carefully and lapping at the head of Shiro's cock.

Holy _shit_ , that was hot.

Keith had never bothered coming baack to their room after the shower, and after lingering for far too long Lance had stomped down the hall to Shiro's room, only to hear the telltale signs of _something_ happening behind the closed door. He had opened the unlocked door with the plans of being all, 'a-ha!', only to witness Keith between Shiro's legs and to have them both glance at the door as if they'd been _expecting_ him.

Which, they obviously had, as it was Keith who asked if Lance would come with him to Shiro's room in the _first_ damn place.

"Are you okay?" Shiro asked, his face flushed red right across the bridge of his nose, under his scar. No, Lance really wasn't okay, because he was watching Keith nose along that behemoth of a cock; and Keith was watching him too with a lewd smirk.

"Fine," he croaked somehow. That wasn't something Shiro should be asking _him,_ he wasn't getting his dick sucked with an audience, after all.

There was no way that Keith would be able to get that whole thing into his mouth, even with swallowing around it, but he was sure making a go of it, lips wrapped around the head and cheeks hollowed out as he went down as far as he could. Lance made a little groaning noise in the back of his throat – Shiro's attention had returned to Keith, the fingers of his left hand tangled in Keith's damp hair. Shiro was groaning too, but there were soft words of encouragement to Keith mixed in there, who was drawing slowly off his slick cock.

Lance had never really _seen_ an alpha's cock erect; it was intimidating. He'd seen a couple in the showers before, but those were flaccid and really he wasn't supposed to be looking then anyway; but here he stared openly, and when Keith looked up at him and caught his eye Lance didn't look away.

"Wanna help?" Keith asked, a thin strand of sticky saliva still connecting his mouth to Shiro's cock. He brushed some of his bangs back behind his ear, where they stayed put for all of three seconds before popping out again.

"Keith," Shiro admonished as Keith continued to stroke him, one hand tight around the root of his cock. He was wearing his gloves, Lance thought dizzily, leaned back into the closed door.

Keith looked up at Shiro and lapped at the broad head again, tongue swirling around and pressing into the slit. "If he wants to he can," he said, and the flush on Shiro's face grew darker. "Right?"

Lance wasn't entirely certain what he wanted. Keith looked over at him again and tilted his head back into Shiro's palm, and as he stroked the shaft of Shiro's cock something _jumped_ in Lance's belly that he wasn't quite certain he understood. It was the same sort of feeling he had when he had Keith's cock in his mouth, when he was lying next to Keith on the bed all tired after a successful, if exhausting workout.

Hesitantly, terrified, Lance stepped forward. Shiro looked over at him and Keith grinned and tilted his head again as Lance stopped just out of reach, but closer now. "Come on," Keith said insistently, and grabbed Lance by the wrist and tugged him forward. Lance came willingly, falling to his knees on the hard tile beside Shiro's right leg.

This close now, he could smell Shiro's musk; the scent thick and heady. Lance started a little when Shiro's right hand rested gently on his head, and he looked up to meet Shiro's eye. His face was flushed so dark it almost obscured the scar, and Lance felt himself blushing in return. "You don't have to do anything," Shiro reminded him, voice ragged as Keith's grip was just a bit too tight.

Maybe he didn't _have_ to do anything, but ... Lance reached out anyway, and touched Shiro's cock. Fingers first, pressing along the side, feeling the slide of the hot velvety skin moving over the muscle beneath, the fluid – a mix of Keith's saliva and the cloudy liquid leaking at a constant rate from the head made the movement smooth. With little hesitation Lance wrapped his hand around Shiro's cock and stroked it, his hand butting against Keith's where it was wrapped around the base.

Shiro made a noise low in his throat that sounded like a growl, and his hand guided Lance in, closer to his cock. Lance swallowed heavily and realized that Keith's head was pushed in close too, and they were staring at each other with Shiro's cock between them. Keith grinned, his eyes gone to half-mast, and he pushed his cheek against Shiro's cock, before switching hands and using his now free-hand to pull Lance in even closer, so that they could kiss.

Logic and reason had flown completely out the window at this point for Lance, and he kissed Keith back heavily, his cheek brushing Shiro's cock too. Keith's mouth was hot and salty, and everything smelled like Shiro. "Want to see something cool?" Keith murmured when they parted, and he lifted his hand where it had been squeezing the base of Shiro's cock.

There, under the flesh, was a thick bulge. _His knot._ Lance went completely red, the realization settling in his gut that this entire, enormous thing was meant to go _inside_ someone, up to the knot. His eyes wide, he looked from the knot to Keith, and then finally up to Shiro, who was watching them both with a soft half-smile on his face.

Lance wet his lips and stared at Shiro's cock. There was a strange kind of hunger that had grown in his belly, that he had never really felt before. Keith put his hand on Lance's head and guided him in, and Lance felt Shiro shudder when his tongue made contact, licking up the side like he was an ice lolly.

"Oh," Shiro's voice rumbled, his fingers scrabbling in Lance's hair. " _Lance._ "

Shiro saying his name like that only encouraged Lance further. When he licked a second time, Keith joined in, on the other side, and Shiro shuddered again and again.

It was terrifyingly easy to lose himself in this. Lance got his mouth around the head and sucked, before Keith nudged him away to do the same thing. Lance realized suddenly that Keith wanted Shiro to come in his mouth and that was unfair, because what if _he_ wanted that too? The entire thing very quickly turned into a personal competition between the two of them, tongues moving quickly, hands squeezing and stroking, and poor Shiro leaned forward, a hand on each of their heads and his jaw tight, cords standing out on his neck as he tried to hold in the orgasm that was swelling under the surface.

"Lance," Shiro said, voice gone hoarse and heavy. " _Keith, I-_ "

Keith pulled off of Shiro's head with a pop and then they both felt his cock surge under theit hands. Lance closed his eyes just in time and Keith gave off a strangled noise of surprise as Shiro came, hard. Thick, sticky white fluid splashed across Keith's face, and Lance would have laughed that it was a common look for Keith but then the second surge hit him, sluicing right over his nose and up into his hair. Shiro, breathing hard, let out a wordless noise of satisfaction.

"Holy shit," Lance breathed, staring at Keith, who had smeared Shiro's come across his cheek with the back of his hand. "There's so _much._ "

"Look," Keith said. "He knotted."

Lance did look, to see that the knot at the base of Shiro's penis had in fact swelled to almost twice its size. Lance wet his lips and touched it with one hand, feeling the heat that came off it. It was much too big, it looked like it would _hurt_ , but at the same time, Lance felt a pull that said he _needed_ it.

Abruptly, Lance pulled away, pinwheeling backward and landing on his ass on the floor, looking up at them both.

"Are you okay?" Keith asked him, and Lance stared at him wildly, his heart wanting to beat out of his chest. _Alpha hormones_ , he thought, trying to shove away the mental image of climbing on top of Shiro right now and getting knotted.

"Y-yeah," Lance said, and wiped his hand over his face. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Keith half-turned, still on his knees. He put his hands on Lance's face and Lance stilled as Keith deeply kissed him. Shiro made a muted noise of appreciation, and when they broke the kiss Keith proceeded to lick Shiro's come off the bridge of Lance's nose.

Lance shook a little under Keith's mouth, and Keith put his arms over Lance's shoulders. "I think that's enough for tonight," Keith murmured, and looked up at Shiro, who had covered the lower part of his face with one hand as he watched Keith clean Lance like a cat. "Yeah?"

"Oh, uh," Shiro nodded his head dumbly. "You're right, of course." He looked at Lance, flushed red, and said -- "will you kiss me?"

Lance got slowly, unsteadily to his feet. When he stepped in close, Shiro's hands settled on his waist, and Lance touched Shiro's face, turning it up so he could kiss him. This was even more intense, and when they broke apart Lance gasped a little and stepped back, Shiro's hands trailing after.

He stepped into Keith, who had stood up as well. "I'll be back," Keith promised Shiro, his arms going around Lance, to keep him steady. "After I make sure he's all right."

  



	37. Chapter 37

"I really didn't expect you to come back tonight," Shiro said, surprised. He was sitting back on the bunk, pants pulled back up but unbuttoned and a datapad in his hand. Keith hesitated in the door, one hand on the frame, before walking the rest of the way through.

"I told you I was," Keith said, and felt suddenly self-conscious. He resisted the urge to touch his mouth with his fingers, to check to see if he had wiped everything off because the way Shiro was looking at him he felt like he might still have some of Lance's fluids on his face. "Sorry I took so long."

Shiro set the datapad down on the mattress beside him and extended his hand to Keith, who came right away, throwing a leg over Shiro's thighs and straddling his lap. Shiro's smile was soft and genuine, as he cradled Keith's cheek with his left hand. "How is he?"

"Worn out," Keith said truthfully, closing his eyes and turning his face into the warmth of Shiro's palm. Lance was sleeping now, Keith had pulled the blanket of his bunk up over his shoulders and considered staying, but the pull of Shiro was too strong. "I think he'll be okay."

_Lance clutched at his head, gasping as Keith sucked him and fingered him and moaning Shiro's name._ Keith was quite certain Lance would be okay. Keith sighed as Shiro's hand stroked back into his hair, and opened his eyes. He smiled at the expression on Shiro's face and tilted his head down so that their foreheads touched, and couldn't help but close his eyes when Shiro kissed him slowly.

"And will we be okay?" Shiro asked him softly, and Keith opened his eyes and looked down at Shiro, felt his heart beating too fast in his ribs, desperate like a bird trying to get free from its cage.

"Definitely," he said, and kissed Shiro again.

 

* * *

 

Lance woke slowly to an empty bed. He blinked his eyes blearily and lifted his head, having slept with his face buried in the pillow that smelled like Keith; but the distinct lack of a Keith-shaped body burrowed under the covers next to him was throwing him off by just a little bit. He sat up slowly and realized he was still mostly dressed.

The chrono on his datapad read the middle of the ship's night cycle. He schlepped out of bed and pulled his shirt off, then hesitated in front of the pop-out panel where his pajamas were stored. Lance looked back at the bed and rubbed his eye with one hand.

They'd fooled around with Shiro. Lance had expected to feel different after, like it had lifted the pall of unease he had about the whole idea of the relationship. Instead, he felt very much the same, except for the intrusive thought in the back of his head about how _much_ he wanted to climb on Shiro's dick now.

(No matter how much it looked like it would hurt.)

Those thoughts were courtesy of the pheromones that alphas gave out, even when not in a rut. _Mate with me, I can produce strong heirs._ Lance knew this, he was _aware_ of this ... but that didn't change the delicious shiver that curled up his spine now that he knew exactly the shape and weight of Shiro's dick.

It was fine if that was all this was, Lance could accept that; except that Shiro hadn't taken Keith, or himself, and forced them down and claimed them. None of them were bonded, and he had had every opportunity to do that. But he _hadn't_ , and that was confusing Lance most of all.

He really wanted to talk to Keith about it, but he knew exactly where Keith was, and Lance folded his arms and stared at the wall, the electricity under his skin distracting. _Fuck._

There was nunavill in the galley, along with water, some thick purplish liquid that smelled faintly sour, and packets of something that might be some kind of alien tea. "We're going to have to figure out a way to get coffee," Lance mumbled, as he poured a glass of water and leaned back against the counter. He considered the alien tea, then remembered the last time he had tried to make something while operating under the assumption it was similar to earth consumables and decided that it wasn't worth the risk. With his luck, the dried ingredients were mummified alien insectoids and dunking them in hot water would cause a swarm aboard the castle-ship.

He drank his water and shuffled back in the direction of the paladin's quarters. Lance wasn't quite sure that he'd be able to get back to sleep in an empty bed, he'd grown too used to having a presence beside him. With that thought in mind he hesitated in front of the first door in the corridor, and after a moment to gather himself, touched the entry pad.

It wasn't locked. The lights weren't off entirely but they were dimmed to a reasonable level to sleep, and there were two blanket-covered lumps nestled in the bed together. Lance swallowed against the hard lump in his throat and turned to go, when the lump shuffled a bit and Shiro's head popped up from a pillow, squinting against the corridor's lights.

"Lance?" he murmured, and Lance hesitated.

He looked back to the bed – Shiro's short hair was tousled from sleep. Keith didn't seem to move at all, although Lance could make out tufts of dark hair from under the blanket. "Sorry," Lance said. "I didn't mean to wake you, I-" he didn't really know _what_ he was doing, so he shrugged a little helplessly. "Sorry," he said again.

Shiro watched him as he turned to leave, and then he said, a little clearer, " _Lance._ " Lance stopped again, and closed his eyes. "Come to bed," Shiro said, and Lance's heart leaped into his throat.

"There's not enough room," he said without making eye contact. "I'm fine, I just had to use the head-"

"We'll make the room," Shiro said, pulling Keith to him.

Lance inhaled a little, and after another moment, walked into Shiro's room.

It was a tight fit – Shiro was up on his side, his back to the wall, and Lance was still on the very edge of the bed, but they made it work, somehow. Keith didn't wake up once for all the shuffling around, and Lance put his arm around Keith's chest and buried his face in the back of Keith's neck. He didn't jump when Shiro rested his right arm across them both, the fingers of his prosthetic hand curled and resting lightly on Lance's shoulder. It didn't bother him at all, in fact, it made Lance feel a little bit more secure and warm, and he closed his eyes and sighed happily.

Lance was soundly asleep before he knew it.

  



	38. Chapter 38

The practice range was near the base of the ship; a long, narrow room that could be customized to the user's preference. With the power level of the bayard plasma rifle cranked down Lance could conceivably practice his marksmanship without causing any lasting damage to the ship, although Coran had reassured him at least three times that the room was shielded so that even fully-powered plasma bolts wouldn't cause any issues.

He wasn't taking any chances; 'sucked out into space through a hole the size of his fist' was not what he wanted his epitaph to be.

It was simple target practice. He wasn't the worst shot at the garrison by a wide margin, but the Altean weapon handled differently than garrison artillery. Besides, practice, practice, _practice._ As the seventh holographic target vanished, pinging points and accuracy metrics to his datapad, Hunk let out a low, impressed whistle.

"Seven trunk shots in a _row_ ," he said. "You should have hooked up with Keith sooner if it was gonna improve your accuracy this much."

"Eight," Lance said, as the next target popped up; true to his word the plasma bolt painted a splash of color through the middle of the scoring zone. "And Keith has nothing to do with this."

"Yeah," Hunk said, leaning forward against the barrier and resting his arms on the shelf that ran along it. "Sure it doesn't."

"Hey," Lance said, insulted. "I've been _practicing._ "

"Yeah, you haven't set foot in the shooting range since, well," Hunk counted on his fingers in the air for a moment. "Since before that creepy abandoned planet where we got the memory core. Probably way before that, if we're being honest."

Lance took a step back, and propped one hand on his waist. "I have _too_ been down here since then!"

"C'mon man, it's not a bad thing you're more focused." Hunk was trying not to smirk, and Lance was just _more_ insulted.

"More... what, do you think getting _laid_ is helping me shoot better?"

"Dude, I do not want to think about that." Hunk pulled a face. "It's bad enough knowing you and Keith are cohabitating, I do not need the details on your sex life."

Lance slapped his hand down on the barrier. "That's it, you and me. Shooting contest. Right now."

"You _are_ aware that my bayard is like, a cannon, right? It's going to obliterate targets."

"Fuck." Lance glanced around, and pointed to the small wall lockers that ran perpendictular to the exit. "I bet there are regular blaster-plasma-whatsis in there, we'll use the same type of weapon to make it fair."

"All right," Hunk said, and Lance put his plasma rifle on the barrier. When he released it it returned to its shape as a bayard, and they both started rifling through the weaponry, looking for matching guns. "I hope you're prepared to get your ass kicked, Lance."

"We'll see about that," Lance said, and smacked the barrier again, this time triggering the computer systems for the shooting range. "Computer, load up training module five, for two players."

 

* * *

 

Shiro stood in front of the memory core, his hands on his hips. "I don't know," he said, and while his expression and tone of voice was level, even Keith could sense that he was nervous. "It seems like a bad idea, Pidge."

"It's for science," Pidge argued. "Look." She was standing on the other side of the memory core, a datapad in one hand. It took a moment for her to edge around the three pieces of computer machinery that had sprouted around the core like inorganic mushrooms, with a rat's nest of wires connecting the core to her equipment. Once maneuvered free, she walked right up to the memory core and put her hand on it with no hesitation.

Keith didn't miss the fact that Shiro flinched, in anticipation of something happening that never did. "Nothing," Pidge said, and made a note on her datapad. "Princess Allura?"

The princess was standing on the other side of Pidge's equipment. "All right," she said, and stepped forward as well. When she put her hand on the core, the lettering lit slowly, glowing in soft white until she removed her hand.

"It's clearly reacting to the fact that she's Altean," Keith said, gesturing with one hand.

"Clearly," Pidge said dryly. "Shiro, please?"

Shiro sighed deeply. "Do you know how to get me out if I end up back in?"

"No," Pidge said, at the same time that Allura said "yes."

They looked at each other. "Really?" Pidge said, and Allura nodded her head.

"I do believe I could coax anyone out of the memory core with the right turn of phrase," she said. "I'm not sure _how_ I know that, but I'm sure I can."

Shiro sighed deeply. "Okay, fine." He stepped forward, his right hand out.

"No, do your real hand," Pidge said, and Shiro hesitated. "I mean, your left hand. They're both your real hands, sorry."

Shiro took a moment to gather himself, and Keith shot Pidge a dirty look. Then he reached out with his left hand, flinched a second but then touched the pillar quickly. The lettering lit gold for a split-second, then went out well before Shiro removed his hand. He dropped his hand and exhaled, then looked to Pidge.

She was staring down at the pad intently. "Now the right hand," she said.

The reaction was instant, all the runes lit purple when Shiro laid his Galran hand against the memory core. "Holy shit," Pidge muttered, staring at the read-outs scrolling on her pad. Shiro let his hand drop to his side and exhaled, clearly relieved. Then he took a step back and folded his arms, unconsciously mirroring Keith's pose.

"So what does it mean?" Allura asked, peering over Pidge's shoulder.

"I don't know yet," Pidge said. She looked up at Keith. "Keith, be our control. Touch the pillar."

Keith rolled his eyes and stepped forward to touch the pillar. The lines did not light up .... at least, not right away. They glowed a soft purple, not the intense violet that they had jsust been under Shiro's hand.

"Well that just doesn't make _any_ damn sense," Pidge said, and walked around one of the towers rooted to the ground with a mass of cabling. "White for Altean – but no response when I touched it. Turned yellow for Shiro's flesh hand and was yellow when Lance touched it ... where _is_ Lance and Hunk, I need more data points..."

"I can go find them," Keith said.

"Pretty sure they're down in the shooting range," Shiro said mildly, arms folded.

"It turned _purple_ for Keith," Pidge was still talking to herself. " _Purple._ That throws my Galran theory right out the window." She leaned forward, and then collapsed into a cross-legged seated position so quickly that Keith actually moved to lunge forward until he realized she was okay, just went from standing to sitting in an eyeblink. Pidge looked up at Keith as if she'd never seen him before. "Purple," she said again, as if that was an answer and not a question.

"I'll go get Hunk and Lance," Keith said.

"No need," Shiro touched Keith's arm, and he jumped a little despite himself. Lance and Hunk had just walked into the training room, and judging by Lance's general audio level and bounciness, he was quite pleased with himself. "Hey!" Shiro barked, his yell amplifying the authority in his voice. "Lance! Hunk! Report!"

Hunk went to parade rest instantly, having been conditioned by years at the garrison. Lance, however, did not, and instead stared at Shiro and Keith like he hadn't seen them before. Then, gratifyingly, he blushed and looked away. "Lance beat me in a shooting game," Hunk reported matter-of fact.

Keith's eyebrows shot up. "What, really?"

"You don't have to act so surprised," Lance said, and put his hands on his waist and leaned forward. " _I_ knew I would beat Hunk but Hunk didn't believe me either, there's a reason my bayard is a rifle-"

"I'd beat him," Keith told Hunk conversationally, as if Lance wasn't there.

"You would _not_!" Lance screeched.

"Lance!" Pidge snapped. "Touch the pillar!"

" _Fuck_ no," Lance said. "Don't you remember what happened the last time I did that? Nightmare fuel, that's what. _You_ touch the pillar."

"I touched it and nothing happened," Shiro said, attempting to placate.

"It lit up yellow and purple, that's not nothing," Allura said helpfully, and Shiro shot her a look.

"I'll touch it," Hunk said. "Look, see, nothing happens." He smacked his palm against the pillar and, just as he said, nothing happened.

"C'mon Lance," Pidge wheedled. "It's for science!"

"Oh if it's for _science_ ," Lance said, but then Keith grabbed his arm by the wrist and yanked him forward, and Lance yelped and stuck both his hands out to balance himself and they thwapped against the memory core.

Where Lance touched, the lines lit up yellow. He made another, higher-pitched noise and _flailed_ backwards, then landed on his ass on the floor. "Keith! You dick!"

Keith shrugged, and looked at Pidge, who was making the worst face at her datapad. "None of this makes any _sense_ ," she groaned. "I'm missing something here and I don't know what it is."

"Well," Shiro said. "Do you want us to get Coran, and see what happens when he touches it?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm just gonna keep at this for the next, like, month." Pidge looked up at Allura. "Are we still headed for that moon? That'll give me some time to interpret this data."

"Yes," she said. "We should be arriving aftermorrow, if all goes well."

Lance sat all the way forward and kicked at Keith's boot sullenly. "I would _too_ beat you in a shooting contest," he huffed, and Keith ignored him.

  



	39. Chapter 39

Allura stood at the command console on the bridge, her arms folded and a frown on her face. Outside the forward viewscreen, still far enough out that the entire planet could be seen at once was the gas giant of Eaphus. It was a maelstrom of slowly changing oranges and golds. Allura wasn't looking out the forward viewscreen, however, instead down at the holographic display that hovered above the command console.

"That's odd," Coran said from his own console. "But not unexpected, given the length of time since we last visited the moon of Eaphus." He gestured and looked back at Allura, who hadn't taken her eyes off the display. "We could try hailing again, or even use the universal open communications system."

"Can't the Galra patch in on the UOCS?" Pidge asked, watching the foreign languages scroll across the navigator's console. "I mean, it is unencrypted."

"There aren't any Galra on the moon of Eaphus," Allura said.

"How can you be so sure, Princess?" Keith stood next to Shiro, his eyes not on the planet outside but on Shiro, who wore an unfamiliar expression. "Seems to me that they're pretty much everywhere."

"No, she's right," Shiro said suddenly. "There wouldn't be any, at least not on the ground. But they're at the way-point station in orbit above the moon. It's not safe to use any open communications here."

Allura glanced back at Shiro, who was very careful not to make eye contact with anyone. "There's something in the chemical composition of the air that is irritating to the Galra," Coran explained cheerfully. "It's not toxic nor even obvious to most oxygen-breathing species, but the interaction is noticable enough that Galra tend to give the planet a wide berth."

"You've been here before," Allura said to Shiro, who continued to stare out the forward viewscreen.

"Not to the moon," Shiro said softly. He started gently when Keith laid his hand on Shiro's arm, then looked over to him and forced a smile to the surface. "Only to the waystation." He didn't elaborate further, and Allura nodded her head.

"So, what are we _doing_ here?" Pidge said finally. "I mean, we can infiltrate the waystation and grab onto lines of communication, snoop around a bit..."

"We aren't actually here to snoop around," Allura said. "I didn't think that the Galra would establish a base here, given they avoid the moon if at all possible." She let out a breath and looked back to her console.

"Well, it does make sense," Coran said. "It's a major thoroughfare, with the sheer amount of traffic from all the species who make the journey to the temples."

Allura nodded. "The temples are actually our intended destination as well. We'll just have to be careful. The lions will stay on the ship, we'll take one of the smaller pods to the surface of the moon." She gestured with one hand at the console. "Coran, we'll land the ship on one of the smaller moons without an atmosphere. That should keep us off the radar for a while."

"I don't like the idea of everyone leaving the ship," Shiro said. "Especially with all the lions here."

"Yeah," Keith said. "All it takes is one overly-adventurous drone scout and Voltron is in Zarkon's hands."

Allura nodded her head. "That's why Coran will stay with the ship. The first sign of trouble he'll let us know, and we'll return right away."

Coran sighed. "And I was so looking forward to a nice rejuvenating stay at the Balneum."

 

* * *

 

"So we're not wearing our paladin armor to the surface?" Lance was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the long couch in the common room. Hunk was seated across from him, frowning at the cards in his hand, which flickered a little.

"Nope." Keith dropped onto the couch behind Lance, and crossed his legs, narrowly missing thwacking Lance in the side of the head. Lance ignored this and folded his cards down so that Keith couldn't see them over his shoulder. "Allura said we're going to wear 'native garb'."

"That should be interesting." Lance rocked forward, staring at Hunk. "Are you going to fold?" he asked, as Hunk scrutinized his hand.

"I don't even know what these suits _are_ ," he said finally. "I can't remember, is the blue one supposed to be spades or clubs?" He tapped the top of his cards with one hand. "This one keeps _flickering_ , I think it's changed denominations twice."

"That's what makes it risky!" Lance said, and Keith rolled his eyes.

Hunk let out a long sigh and threw his cards down. "Maybe we should just ask Coran to teach us the game that these cards are meant to be played with," he said. "Because poker is _not_ working out."

"I wanted to play ratscrew," Lance said, and then yelped when Keith kicked him between the shoulder blades. "Ow! What was _that_ for?"

"Nothing," Keith said dryly. "It was an accident."

"My _ass_ it was an accident."

"Hey!" Shiro said, coming through the door. "We're going to be landing soon, why is no one getting ready?"

Lance leaned back on his hand and turned his head to look at Shiro as he spoke. "I think it's kinda stupid that we're not wearing our paladin arm...." The way that he trailed off made Keith look at him funny, then glance back to the door as well.

Shiro was wearing a thin, gauzy fabric of dark gray that was pinned on both sides at the shoulder and belted at the waist. It fell to just above his knee, and was hemmed in a black triangle pattern. Shiro was actually turning faintly pink at the attention.

"What are you _wearing?_ " Lance gasped.

"Wow, Shiro," Hunk said. "Looking good!"

" _That's_ the native garb?" Keith said.

"Wait, do we _all_ have to wear that?" Lance jabbed his finger at Shiro. "I mean, I can pull it off but I don't know about Keith OW-"

Somehow Keith's hand made contact with the back of Lance's head without him tearing his gaze from Shiro. "Yes," Shiro coughed into his hand and found his normal voice again. "Everyone has to wear native garb. There should be something in the wardrobes in your rooms. Nothing that identifies us as Voltron paladins can be brought with us; there's a large enough bounty on our heads as it is."

Lance stood up quickly, cards dropped on the floor in the pile. "I'm going to change," he said, and hurried quickly out of the room. Hunk gathered up the cards and shuffled them back together, conspicuously slow. He put them away, and gave Keith and Shiro one last look, then shuffled out the door, heading for his own quarters.

Shiro looked after him. "Do I look that ridiculous?" he asked Keith, who still had not moved from his seat.

"No," Keith said. "You look that _hot_. I'm willing to bet that Lance ran off so he could jerk it at least once before getting dressed, because parading around in skimpy clothes like that his boner would be one hundred percent obvious."

Shiro turned an even darker shade of pink. "I notice that you're not running off after him to do the same."

Keith shrugged a little and finally blushed himself. "I could," he said, and shifted his position so he wasn't twisted as uncomfortably. "Or I could jerk it here where I can look at you the entire time."

" _Keith_ ," Shiro said, and walked to where the back of the couch met the upper level of the room. "You're not serious."

He shifted again, so that he was kneeling on the couch, and put his elbows on the floor and his chin in his hand, looking up at Shiro. Keith licked his lips slowly and let his eyes travel up and down Shiro. "The sandals really tie the whole thing together," he said idly palming himself through his pants. "You look like a gladiator."

Shiro's eyes glittered oddly for a moment, and Keith shot up onto his knees as he realized what he said. "Shit, Shiro, that's not at all what I meant-"

"I know," he said, and crouched in front of Keith. Keith bit his lip as Shiro reached out and gently touched Keith's face with his right hand. For a moment, all was silent as they looked at each other.

The door behind Shiro slid open and Shiro almost fell over backwards, the way he was balanced. "Hey, guys!" Pidge said, flouncing through the door in a long, layered tunic of a similar material to Shiro's chiton. "Look at-" she stopped dead in her tracks as Shiro shot upright. "Okay," Pidge said. "Can we _not_ do the sex thing in the common areas? Some of us have to live here too, you know."

"We weren't having sex!" Keith squeaked, beet red.

"There was at least eyefucking going on," she said, and pointed at Keith. "I am _underage_ , and being exposed to _all_ sorts of degenerative filth around here."

Shiro looked abashed. "Our apologies, Pidge-"

"Don't apologize to her," Keith said. "She was running the black market on girly mags in the garrison, even _I'd_ heard about 'Gunderson's Goodies' before I got kicked out."

Pidge shrugged. "Had to make my money somewhere to pay for the modifications to my equipment." She hiked her thumb over her shoulder at the door. "Allura's almost ready. Keith, you gonna join us or just grit your teeth in frustration?"

Keith sighed heavily and stood up on the couch, then stepped up to the upper level of the room. "Hopefully he's done by now," he said and only hesitated a moment when Shiro caught his eye. They shared a small smile and Pidge groaned again.

" _Eyefucking_ ," she emphasized.

"For someone who's underage you say 'fuck' a lot," Keith muttered as he walked out the door. Pidge shrugged and followed, leaving Shiro alone in the common room.

 

* * *

 

"You aren't _seriously_ wearing your gloves with that," Lance said, appalled. Keith hadn't taken them off, and was in the process of lacing up one of those really complex sandals that he had appreciated on Shiro's well-formed calves but were apparently a nightmare to put on himself.

"I am, and you can fuck right off," Keith said.

"You're a fashion disaster," Lance moaned. "How can you be so hot and be so _clueless?_ "

Keith turned pink at that but resolved not to look up, finishing lacing his sandal and picking up his sheathed knife. "Wish I could say the same for you, but you're just clueless," he said, and tried to figure out a good place to tuck his weapon. His tunic was cream with a red belt and red accents along the hem, and unlike Shiro's actually featured sleeves.

"Oh, you _wound_ me." Lance clutched at his chest dramatically. His pale blue chiton was worn only fastened at his left shoulder, and was cut _especially_ short. Keith did not stare at his legs. "You're wound me more if I didn't know how sexy I was in this." He struck a pose and now Keith was _actually_ ignoring him.

There was a knock at the door, and Lance struck another pose, with his ass out. "It's _open_ ," he called in a falsetto voice, and Keith rolled his eyes and groaned.

Hunk stood there, wearing a similar tunic to Keith's. He took in Lance's ass-out pose, then looked at Keith. "We're waiting on you two," he said to Keith.

"Aw, Hunk, my man. You're not going to compliment my ass?"

"No," Hunk said. "I've seen way too much of it recently." He inclined his head toward the hall. "Can we get going? The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can put on real clothes again."

"For real," Keith said, and walked to the door.

"These _are_ real clothes," Lance muttered, and followed sullenly.

  



	40. Chapter 40

The alien was over two meters in height and was a bright orange hue, with cracks run along its craggy skin that glowed slightly depending on how it moved. It walked on knuckles and squat, short legs, and turned its head toward the assembled paladins without moving its body to match. "Welcome," it creaked out in a passable common tongue, the syllables crushed and mangled in its mouth. "Eaphus stands with Altea."

"You honor us greatly, Master Craftsman," Allura said, bowing deeply. She stood at their head, resplendent it faint ivory and pink, her long hair loose and billowing. The alien – didn't bow, not quite, but bobbed its thick torso forward in jerking motion, matching as well as it could. "These are the paladins of Voltron. They have come to undertake the pilgrimage of the temples."

The alien looked over them again, and moved its body in another bobbing motion. Hunk had positioned himself behind Lance, as Shiro stood just to Allura's right and that was Too Close For Hunk. "That thing looks like it could eat Pidge in one bite," he said, not as softly as he hoped.

"Dude," Lance hissed. "Shut the fuck up."

Shiro glanced back at them with a frown, and both Lance and Hunk did shut the fuck up. Keith sighed and resisted the urge to tug at the hem of his tunic, which felt far too short and he really hated having his legs bare. He felt naked, even if the other paladins were in the same boat.

They were standing in what served as a central transit hub for the moon of Eaphus. There were so many aliens moving around it felt like Grand Central Station. No two seemed to look alike, and very few even gave the group of them a second glance. The air inside the transit hub was humid and thick and it made him antsy. He'd been feeling a little overheated all day, and it made him irritable, and all of this was only making things worse.

The alien made a series of deep moaning noises that terminated in fast, low clicking noises. After a moment it moved again, swinging its body around and gesturing in that same slow manner with its head. "Pilgrimage difficult. Relax in my baths first. Replenishes, and strengthens, for tasks ahead."

"You are most kind," Allura said.

They followed the large alien from the transit hub. If Keith had thought the recycled atmosphere inside the hub was bad, stepping outside was like walking into soup. The air was heavy and wet and difficult to breathe. It was thick with a faint tinge of rotten eggs, and he wrinkled his nose at the same time that Lance clapped a hand over his nose and went, _"Hunk._ "

"Dude," Hunk complained. "That was _not_ me."

"The air smells like sulfer, it wasn't either of you," Pidge said in her annoyed voice. The large alien made a loud, croaking noise that caused them all to freeze until they realized it was some form of laughter.

"Air smell diminishes," it explained. "Used to it."

The transit hub was nestled in a valley between two dark, craggy mountains. Eaphus itself filled most of the sky, a looming, ominous mass of orange and red. The atmosphere was hazy yellow, and the sunlight reflecting off the planet above gave it an almost sickly tinge.

All that being said, the town that sprawled out from the spaceport was full of an uneven collection of buildings constructed in a mishmash of alien styles. Stalls populated the areas between buildings, and banners and flags covered in all manner of alien script criss-crossed overhead. The alien had to duck under some of the lowest-hanging flags and did so without complaint.

They were all sweating by the time they reached a building that seemed to best accomodate their alien guide's frame. "Ah," Allura said, clearly recognizing the place. "It doesn't seem like much has changed at all! It's been so long, though, is the floor still available?"

Lance and Hunk both leaned around Keith, looking around at their surroundings closely. "Is this ... a _bath_ house?" Lance said, one hand on Keith's shoulder for balance.

"It is," Allura answered for them. She looked back at them all, as the alien swung his head around. "We'll have three days of rest before the pilgrimage. I suggest you take advantage of it."

"Am I allowed to say that I have a bad feeling about all this pilgrimage talk? Because I do. Have a bad feeling about it." Lance said. Keith rolled his eyes and sighed very loudly.

"You have a bad feeling about putting your _pants_ on in the morning," he pointed out.

"Just for that, I'm bunking with Hunk," Lance said. "Right, Hunk?"

"Don't drag me into this," Hunk said.

"That's fine," Keith said. "I'll just sleep with Shiro then, it all works out. _Bunk_ ," Keith backpedaled quickly. " _Bunk_ with Shiro."

Pidge sighed loudly. "I hope the walls here are thick."

 

* * *

 

There were three rooms, arranged side by side that shared a long porch area. Shiro sat on the edge of the raised porch, legs off the side, arms folded thoughtfully. "This doesn't feel right, not in yukata," he mused, staring out at the water.

It gathered in large, natural-formed craters. He could see the steam coming off the water even from here; the baths extended the enter length of their side. There was a large fence made of a natural wood, yellow and in some portions green, that separated these pools of water from the next set, shared by the next three rooms along the side of the building.

"These baths are co-ed?" Lance said in a high-pitched, shocked voice.

"It's not cost efficient to separate the baths based on gender," Allura stepped out the door of the far left room that she was sharing with Pidge. "There are so many to consider, after all."

"This all seems very nice, Princess," Shiro said. "But we don't really have the time to spare on a hot springs visit, do we?"

"It is like I told the Master Craftsman Eregre," Allura said. "You'll need the rest in order to undertake the trials and the pilgrimage."

"You keep talking about that," Keith said. "What _is_ it?"

"Some kind of training, obviously," Lance said. "I bet it involves grueling climbs up the sides of mountains to hard-to-reach temples in isolated jungles full of traps like venomous snakes and pits full of stakes and giant, rolling balls made of stone-"

"Lance," Shiro said in exasperation.

Allura frowned. "Who told you about the temple of Empodocles?"

"Wait, what?" Lance said.

"We're going to die, aren't we?" Hunk asked Shiro conversationally, and Shiro sighed.

"No one's dying, Hunk."

"Yet," Lance muttered sourly.

"It'll be fine, no one hardly ever dies on the pilgrimage," Allura said confidentially. "It's meant to bolster teamwork, and expose the true strengths of each paladin!" Everyone stared silently at Allura, who held her confident pose for a long moment. "And afterward we'll come back here to rest a little longer before we return to the ship, and take the fight to Zarkon!"

Pidge raised her hand. "So, do we just get in the water naked, or...?"

"Yes, of course," Allura responded, puzzled. "Do you bathe in your clothing on earth?"

"Well, _this_ is gonna be an interesting few days," Shiro said, and rested his hands on the edge of the porch as he listened in on Allura's education on human bathing rituals.

 

* * *

 

The room itself was faintly Japanese in its design, just enough that Shiro felt slightly comfortable, but alien enough that it constantly reminded him that he was nowhere near being home. It was simple in its layout, a main area where the assorted bedding could be piled on the floor in any configuration, a refresher station that could be customized to your features, and a small rinse-off shower.

Keith had pulled one of the large, fluffy blankets from the pile and had nestled on his side sleepily. Shiro hesitated by his side for a moment, then rubbed his nose and stepped past, heading for the baths. He could, very faintly, _smell_ Keith again; but it was too fast for it to be his heat again. He thought. He wasn't really _sure_ , he hadn't noticed much about omegas' cycles when he was at the garrison, and _after_ that, well....

He seemed to remember that omegas usually had pretty consistent cycles, but Keith had just started his heats, so who knew, really? He should ask Lance, Lance seemed to have things well in hand where that was concerned.

Shiro left his gray chiton hanging in the room and took a towel out to the water. According to Allura, they had private usage of this bath; but the last thing he wanted to do was accidentally expose himself to Pidge or something; even if Pidge was out exploring the area with Hunk at the moment he wasn't taking any chances.

He sat at the edge of the water and put his legs in first. Keith going into a heat here wouldn't be so bad. The rooms seemed almost soundproofed, unless you left the door to the shared porch open. And they were safe here, their identity only known to the owner of the inn.

Shiro looked up at the open sky above. Eaphus took up most of it, and while the planet was now between them and the sun, it still glowed with reflected sunlight, making the darkest portion of night still as bright as dawn. Too bright to see the stars beyond.

He exhaled and sank into the water, then leaned back against the ridge and closed his eyes. He _would_ try to relax. After all, who knew when their next chance to do so would be...?

  



	41. Chapter 41

Keith woke too hot and irritable. He had kicked the blanket away and rolled onto his stomach on the soft futon, and now he rested his forehead on his arm and groaned. His skin felt prickly, like he itched all over, and a deep-seated ache resonated somewhere between his legs. This wasn't the same, as last time.

He got to his knees and looked around the room, then saw Shiro's clothing hanging beside the door that opened to the baths outside. Maybe he had thought he dreamed that, sharing a room with Shiro, just the two of them ... but no, there was proof of it right there, Shiro's clothes made of the same soft, light material as his own. Keith pulled himself to his feet and left the bedding scattered all around, walking unsteadily to the door, and touched the gray chiton with one hand wonderingly. Then he buried his face in it and inhaled Shiro's scent until he felt lightheaded.

Splashing and noise from outside drew him to touch the panel that opened the door to the baths. The steamy and humid air from outside rushed in and it made him shiver all over. Hunk and Lance were in the water, waded as far out as they could get from Shiro and making a ruckus. Shiro sat at the edge, his back to the rooms, both elbows hooked over the lip of the natural grotto and watched Hunk and Lance splash each other like children.

As if he could sense the door open, Shiro glanced back over his shoulder at the room and pinned Keith with a stare. His face was flushed completely pink from the water, but Keith felt open and naked under his scrutinizing look, before Shiro's expression split into a grin and he inclined his head toward the baths. "Gonna join us?" he asked, and Keith numbly nodded.

He changed out of sight of the door, leaving his clothing puddled on the floor and wrapping a towel around himself awkwardly. He wasn't entirely hard, not yet – but the way that Shiro had looked at him, had known he was there ... he had to know. Keith awkwardly walked to the edge of the baths and sat on the lip, putting his feet in the too-hot water and letting out a small involuntarily sigh when he did so. The itching under his skin seemed to stop with the application of the mineral water, and Shiro looked up at him and studied Keith, still with the soft grin on his face.

"Feel better after your nap?" he asked, and Keith, already flushed red, turned darker.

"Worse," he muttered, and looked away.

Shiro nudged his thigh, his bare thigh, with an elbow. "Don't be like that," he said. "Get in the water, it feels good."

Shiro wasn't lying, the hot water was soothing against his calves. Arranging himself as best he could with the towel, Keith slid into the water and found himself sitting on the same stone ledge as Shiro, the water coming easily up to his chest. Shiro settled back against the wall, his arm still draped over the ledge, extending past Keith's shoulders. He leaned in close to Keith, all without touching him, and murmured softly even though he didn't need to. "You smell _delicious_ right now."

"Fuck," Keith said, and if the water hadn't already brought all the blood to his face that would have accomplished the task handily.

Shiro edged his arm off the ledge and over Keith's shoulders slowly. "Did your heat start early?" he asked, and Keith put both his hands on his knees and stared straight ahead at where Lance was being dunked by Hunk, like it was a warmed swimming pool and not a hot springs. He watched Lance come up sputtering and angry, standing fully upright in the water which was enough to show that he hadn't bothered with a towel, the rise of his ass emerging from the water. Keith tilted his head away from Shiro, exposing his neck, the vulnerability of an omega sending tendrils of excitement into his stomach.

"Yes," he said softly, as Shiro nuzzled against him, kissing his jaw and down to his neck. This felt dirty and hot, and Keith knew that the small squirming move he made at Shiro's touch wasn't enough to catch anyone else's attention, but it was enough to loosen the towel he had worn for modesty's sake.

More tremors, as Shiro's teeth skated down the wet skin of Keith's throat. They wouldn't do this in the pool, not where everyone would bathe, but every touch of Shiro's was hotter than the water they sat in, and Keith's head was already swimming. There was no need to say no to this, not even Hunk in the baths distracted him as Shiro shifted, his arm still over Keith's shoulder, but the other brought around and touching Keith's thigh under the water.

"Shiro," Keith said, his breath hitching as those fingers traced higher up his thigh, headed toward the point of no return. His heart was beating wildly in his chest and his hand found his way to Shiro's, stopping it on his thigh and flattening it against his skin. "Not here," he said, to his body's great disappointment.

"What do you want me to do?" Shiro asked, the fingers of his prosthetic hand teasing at the ends of Keith's hair, curled up against the damp and the heat.

Keith looked at Shiro, pressed up against his side, hair matted flat with sweat and heat, and felt his entire body surge. An alpha. _His_ alpha. Keith curled his hand around Shiro's on his thigh, and said, hoarsely, " _claim_ me."

 

* * *

 

Lance sank in the water up to his nose and groaned at the third bad pun in a row that had escaped from Hunk's brain. "That's ... I'm not even going to dignify that with a _response_ ," he said, half turning away from his friend and not at all jealous that he hadn't thought of that one first. Hunk splashed his hand in the water idly, as if it was too much effort to direct an actual splash at Lance, who had gotten away from the benches that seemed to line the walls of the baths.

"Hey," Hunk said. "Looks like Shiro's done."

Lance turned back toward the front of the baths, in time to see Shiro step out of the water, holding the damp towel in front of himself in a small effort to preserve modesty that Lance thought was woefully misplaced. However, he had his other hand extended to Keith, helping him step out of the bath as well, and Keith's towel was left behind in the water, showcasing the magnificent arch of his erect cock.

"Oh, _man_ ," Hunk clapped a hand over his eyes and turned away. "I did _not_ need to see that, I _never_ needed to see that, Lance, that's why you wear bathing trunks, or something..."

Lance wasn't paying attention to Hunk. He was watching the way that Keith and Shiro were looking at each other. Without thinking about it he waded toward the edge of the pool, and Hunk groaned again.

"Yeah, sure," Hunk said. "Go follow your boyfriends, leave me alone in the hot, spunk-free water."

"Yeah," Lance said, not paying any attention to what Hunk was saying. "Of course, buddy, whatever you say." He watched as Shiro tilted Keith's head back and kissed him without shame, and felt his heart beat into his throat. Shiro was touching Keith. Shiro was manhandling him toward the room. Lance got closer to the edge, where Keith's towel was abandoned, and then the faint scent struck him, masked more by the sulfer and strange smells in the air.

Keith was in _heat._

"Oh fuck," Lance said softly, and stood up in the water. The motion attracted Keith's attention and he hesitated and looked over his shoulder at Lance. It took a moment for the recognition to seep through the layers of heat and attraction, but then his expression brightened further and he stopped, holding out his hand for Lance and said, "C'mon, Lance."

Lance didn't waste any time scrambling out of the water. Shiro had stopped, his arm around Keith's waist, and he watched Lance with a guarded expression, that seemed to melt when he realized that it was _Lance._ "You have alpha brain," Lance said to Shiro as Keith grabbed his hand and held it tight. "I recognize that look anywhere, you thought I was coming to steal Keith from you-"

"Lance," Shiro said heavily, "shut up."

Lance puffed his chest out, about to complain to Shiro's face about that response when Shiro released Keith's waist and grabbed Lance by the chin, kissing him aggressively. Lance's eyes flew wide, and Hunk let out a loud groan, then yelled, " _please fucking take it into the rooms!"_ from somewhere behind them.

"Holy shit," Lance said, slightly dazed, when Shiro released him.

"Come on," Keith tugged Lance by the arm, and Lance didn't even think to look behind him as he was walked into the room on the far right, the door slipping shut behind Shiro.

Hunk let out an aggravated noise. "Well, at least I get the room to myself," he said, and leaned back into the wall, closing his eyes. "Sure hope the rooms are as soundproof as they seem."


	42. Chapter 42

There was a moment of pure disorientation standing on the other side of that closed door, Shiro's hand on his waist, Lance ahead of him. Keith inhaled the cooler, recirculated air of the bedroom and realized how dizzy he was, how overheated and bothered and _needy_ he felt, and he sagged against Shiro's side and closed his eyes.

"Keith?" Shiro said, and his tone was questioning, not panicking.

"I'm all right," Keith said without opening his eyes. He was, at least as far as he could tell – his heart was beating like a jackhammer, the water from the mineral bath left his skin damp and slick, but both of Shiro's hands were touching his body right now, and when he opened his eyes and looked up at Shiro, nothing else seemed to matter at all.

Shiro shifted his position suddenly, his arms sliding around Keith's sides and all of the sudden he was airborne. Keith let out an undignified yelp as Shiro carried him the approximately five paces to the spread of futons on the floor and dropped him there, right beside the spot where Lance had seated himself, uncertain of what else to do.

"Oh my god," Lance said, but it was a prelude to a very loud and somewhat unsexy cackle. "Your _face_ was-"

Tragically, Keith never learned what his face resembled because Shiro grabbed Lance by the shoulder and shoved him down too, onto his back. Lance went down with his own yelp, and he went stiff as a board on his back, his shoulder touching Keith's. "Fuck," Lance muttered, but Keith wasn't looking at him, he was staring up at Shiro.

He could smell so _much_ , Lance's nervousness was sharp and bitter, but it was drowned out by the heavy scent of Shiro's musk, his _arousal._ Keith swallowed and wet his lips and _stared_ , because Shiro was nude above him and he'd cast aside that tiny wet towel and Keith's mind went blank with naked need.

Keith felt Lance shift and roll away as Shiro put one hand on the futon beside Keith's head, his eyes locked on Keith's. They were both breathing too fast and too hard, and Shiro's knee went between Keith's legs and he slid his other hand up the outside of Keith's thigh. His body rippled and moved of its own accord; Keith arched off the futon and Shiro's hand dove into the space created, flattening on the small of Keith's back, just above his ass. Keith flung his arms over Shiro's shoulders and then they were kissing, finally, _finally._

Shiro's kisses were sloppy and open-mouthed, and Keith couldn't form words around the foreign tongue in his mouth so he settled on short gasping moans. He wanted more than this but his mind had gone all fuzzy, and it wasn't until Shiro kissed down his jaw that he regained some semblance higher processing.

"Fuck," Keith said, and twisted his head as Shiro's teeth traced delicately down the line of his throat. " _Fuck_ , I want-"

Shiro's mouth stopped on the muscle that connected neck to shoulder; it felt so hot that Keith swore it was searing his skin. "Shiro," Keith managed, but everything else flew out of his head when Shiro bit him there.

Keith heard Lance's little gasp from far away, his murmur of ' _holy shit_ ', but Keith really wasn't paying attention to Lance at the moment. His body surged against Shiro's, his cock dragging a wet strip up Shiro's belly as he came and Shiro didn't lift his mouth right away.

" _Mine_ ," Shiro growled into his skin and Keith shivered and moaned.

 

* * *

 

It took a good few moments for Keith to come back to himself, his eyes almost rolled back into his head and breathing raggedly. Lance had never seen him so wanton, even when they had had sex it was nothing like _this._ He brushed his fingers through Keith's hair, as Shiro sat back on his knees between Keith's spread legs.

"What did you _do_?" Lance said, running his fingers over the jagged skin where Shiro had bit Keith. It bled a little, a few drops beaded over the torn flesh, but not enough to require treatment. He looked up when Shiro moved, but didn't jump.

"I claimed him," Shiro said. His voice had gone odd, huskier than it was before and Lance felt a shiver creep down his spine; his voice sounded like it would pressed to his skin. He moved just a little as Shiro leaned over Keith and cradled his jaw in one hand, kissing him gently, and then trailing his mouth down to Keith's chest.

_Claimed._ Lance rolled onto his side next to Keith, watching as Shiro's tongue swept over the broad plane of Keith's chest and washed over a nipple, then paid special attention to it. Keith's eyes hadn't opened yet but he was making soft moaning noises, and one hand crept up to Shiro's head as he moved.

He didn't know anyone that had been claimed at the garrison. It was indictive of a deep bond, a promise not to part ways, almost a contract, of sorts. _Marriage_ , the little voice that lived in the back of Lance's mind whispered. Shiro intended to knot Keith, and Lance was here to witness it.

"Shiro," Keith moaned, and rolled his head to the side, facing Lance. His eyes were still squeezed shut, his fingers curled in the soft, short hair atop Shiro's head. Shiro was biting his chest now, small short bites just enough to leave reddened marks but not to break the skin. Lance himself was breathing hard just watching them, and with Keith's face turned toward him he reached out and cupped his jaw and kissed Keith quickly.

Keith's eyes flew open – _not the person he was expecting_ _–_ and his pupils were dilated huge. He stared at Lance and licked his lips uncertainly until recognition blossomed and his eyes went half lidded. Lance leaned in and kissed Keith again while Shiro went lower.

Shiro swallowed all of Keith down – _all_ of him. Lance let out a surprised noise as Keith jerked upward and grabbed onto the closest thing he could reach, which was Lance's arm. After a few seconds his too-tight grip relaxed, and Lance knew he'd come again, right down Shiro's throat.

"I think he liked that," Shiro said as he drew off of Keith's dick, which flopped back against his lower belly, still hard and drooling. He was shifting again, between Keith's legs, and Lance looked up at him with a perplexed expression.

"Aren't you gonna stretch him?" he asked, as Shiro pushed one of Keith's legs up.

"What?" Shiro asked. "Why?" He ran his hand down behind Keith's balls and raised it for Lance to see, the slick shining in the overhead light. "He's very wet."

"Yeah, very wet," Lance said. "But you're still _huge_." He had no idea how he was able to say that with a straight face or without staring directly at Shiro's very large, very alpha cock. "You should still stretch him a bit and makes sure he can take you comfortably, you don't want to _hurt_ him."

Shiro nodded his head as if he hadn't even considered the fact that jamming it in might hurt Keith. "That's a good idea."

"No," Keith moaned, head back against the futon mattress. "I want it to hurt, put it _in_ -"

Lance watched as Shiro rubbed his hand between Keith's legs, and Keith's lower half squirmed. "You don't want that," Lance said, and Keith _whined_ as three of Shiro's fingers disappeared inside him. Lance wasn't at the best angle to see, but the filthy squishing noises and Keith's gasps and hitched breaths filled in the blanks for him.

"Please, Shiro," Keith was almost _sobbing_. "Please, _please_..."

Everything about this was overwhelming, and Lance wasn't even the one on his back with his legs spread and Shiro between them. He turned Keith's face to him and kissed him again, swallowing down the words because it wasn't _right_ to hear Keith beg like that, he didn't like it one bit. Keith wrapped one arm around Lance's head and kept him there, and that was distraction enough that Lance didn't exactly get to witness the main event, and didn't realize what had happened until Keith gasped into his mouth and squeezed his eyes closed.

Lance tried to move away but Keith kept his hand on the back of Lance's skull. " _Fuck_ ," his voice hitched again, and Lance twisted enough to see that Shiro was between his legs now, one hand on his spread knees.

"It's just the head," he said, and Keith let out another moan and shuddered.

Lance ducked out from under Keith's hand before he could gouge holes in his head. "I told you you'd need to stretch him," he said, intending to move so he could see. However, without Lance there Keith lunged himself forward, arms going over Shiro's shoulders and forcing more of his dick in with that move.

They _both_ let out startled noises at the sensation, and Keith buried his face into Shiro's neck. Shiro's face had gone dark red at this point, he was breathing just as hard as anyone and sweat dripped from his forehead. "Fuck, _"_ Shiro muttered, his right arm going around Keith's body to support him.

"It's so _much_ ," Keith said into Shiro's skin.

"That's not all of it," Shiro said, and thrust.


	43. Chapter 43

Keith's fingers clawed at the broad expanse of Shiro's back as he squirmed against him; legs locked tight around Shiro's hips. He'd lost track of nearly everything at this point except the rhythm of their bodies moving together, the slide of wet skin on skin and how deliciously stretched and _full_ he felt.

This was, frankly, even better than he'd imagined.

The spot on his shoulder where Shiro bit him stung, it throbbed in time with each thrust. It was a mark, a badge of honor, Shiro's mouth on his skin saying, mine, _mine_ and Keith groaned low, the thought of being owned like that immensely satisfying. Shiro's thrusts stuttered a bit and he squirmed and tossed his head back and felt it brush the futon.

Keith twisted his head as Shiro found his neck again with his mouth, he could see Lance sitting there, legs spread and one hand around his cock as he watched them, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Keith wet his lips and moaned and tried to form his mouth around Lance's name but didn't quite make it. It was enough, though, as Lance made eye contact with him quickly, and then flushed darker.

"Keith," Shiro said, voice heavy. "I'm-" he didn't quite finish that thought, dropping Keith onto the futon and pushing him almost double, so he could slam himself down into Keith, both his hands gripping the back of Keith's thighs punishingly.

He'd lost track of how many times he'd come, his own cock flopped back against him. It was still hard, ridiculously so, but the fluid that leaked from it had gone clear. Keith didn't even bother to touch it, his hands going to the bunched bedding above his head, scrabbling for something to hold on to as Shiro's thrusts turned uneven. "C'mon," Keith gasped, his eyes on Shiro. " _C'mon_."

Shiro's face had tightened, eyes closed and jaw tense, and he didn't _stop_ , even as the slick that leaked from him with every thrust went frothy with Shiro's seed. Keith bit his lip and squirmed, wanting Shiro deeper before it happened. His body knew what it wanted and he, for once, listened.

If he thought Shiro was large, his knot took Keith's breath away. He panted through an open mouth and tried not to move, or shift. "Keith," Shiro said in a ragged voice, and Keith turned his head up to look at Shiro above him, and then tilted his head so their mouths could meet.

Shiro was breathing hard and trembling above him. "I've never," he panted into Keith's mouth, his eyes closed and sweat rolling down his face. After a long moment, he opened his eyes and Keith could see the concern there. "Are you ... okay?"

Keith wasn't about to tell him that his knot was so large it was bordering on uncomfortable. After all, he didn't have anything else to compare it _with._ Keith put both of his hands on Shiro's face and brushed the rise of his cheekbones with his thumbs, each thumb ending on either end of hi scar. "Am I your first?" he asked, in a bit of wonder.

"First I've knotted," Shiro said, his flush deepened. Then he moved back, shifting his weight to one hand and that opened the space between them. Keith stared down their bodies and imagined he could see a bulge that would be Shiro's cock, or his knot, or some evidence from the outside that they were joined together like this – and Shiro took Keith's hand from his face and rested it just above the root of his cock. "Push down," he said, and Keith did and felt his whole body tremble, feeling the hard shaft that rested inside him.

"Holy shit," Keith moaned, and his cock twitched and drooled a little more clear fluid. He rolled his head over to Lance and flopped his hand in that direction, and Lance ... his expression was unreadable. "Feel this," Keith said, giddy with the exhilaration. "You can feel him inside of me."

Lance let Keith guide Lance's hand over him, down to the same spot Shiro had shown Keith. When Lance pushed down and Keith trembled again, Lance swallowed hard, eyes wide. "That's really hot," he almost whispered, his hand tight around his own cock.

He jerked physically when Shiro's hand settled on his shoulder, but then Lance's face softened a bit. "Lance," Shiro said, still breathing hard. "Do you want me to suck you?"

 

* * *

 

Lance's eyes had gone wide at that, he looked away from Shiro quickly, breathing a little too fast. "Lance," Shiro said again, trying to keep his own breathing under control and mostly failing. He wasn't in heat, he wasn't nearly as overwhelmed by Keith's scent, he mostly had his head about him at the moment and the last thing that Shiro wanted was for him to feel pressured into any of this. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to," he said, as he shifted his hips against Keith.

He was looking down at Keith, legs spread wide around Shiro's hips, one hand now resting on his lower belly with a contented smile, feeling out the shape of Shiro inside him. "Yeah," Lance said, and slowly got to his feet. "Can I..." he swallowed and looked down at Shiro and clearly felt completely vulnerable. Shiro put his hand gently on Lance's hip and drew him close, so he could smell his musk.

"Yeah?" Shiro asked softly as Lance's dick brushed over the bridge of his nose. Lance had gone quiet, eyes wide at the shine of fluid that motion left behind. "What were you going to ask?"

It took another long moment, in which Shiro used to his advantage and swiped his tongue over the head of Lance's cock, tasting him. Lance let out a long, shuddering breath and leaned in, putting his hand on Shiro's head none too gently.

"I wanna fuck your mouth," he said boldly, and Shiro made eye contact with him and Lance blushed hard but didn't look away. Shiro wet his lips and, without another word, opened his mouth and relaxed his jaw. Keith let out a noise underneath him but he didn't twist his head or try to look at Keith, maintaining his eye contact with Lance as Lance pushed his cock into Shiro's mouth.

It was hard to keep his mouth relaxed enough for Lance. Shiro swallowed around him as he buried his nose in the rough curls that framed Lance's cock, then drew off enough to let him thrust again. Lance held his head still with both hands and Shiro went slack and focused on breathing through his nose. "Fuck," Keith said from underneath him, and he tightened around Shiro's cock and it was almost too much sensation to deal with all at once. "That's so fucking _hot_."

Lance let out a ragged gasp and suddenly Shiro's mouth was overfull, Lance's seed leaking out and spilling down his chin. He couldn't quite swallow right with Lance's cock in his mouth so he let it slip free, and wiped the back of his hand over his mouth, looking back up at Lance, who just looked completely dazed. "Did you like that?" Shiro tried out, his voice even coarser now, and Lance nodded numbly. Shiro put his hand on Lance's hip, then slid it back around to his ass, rubbing him there softly and still making eye contact.

"Nothing you don't want to do, okay?" Shiro said, and Lance nodded again, flushed and dazed.

  



	44. Chapter 44

Shiro's hand was really warm, Lance thought, still a little strung-out and dazed. He wasn't entirely sure how he was still standing upright as at some point his knees had turned to jelly, but maybe it was Shiro's hand pressing into his ass that was keeping him vertical. He combed his fingers absently through the crop of short hair atop Shiro's head as Shiro kissed the sensitive skin around his cock, licking clean any spill of fluid that he had missed previously.

“Shiro,” Keith said raggedly, and pressed the palm of his hand down on his stomach again. Lance watched him squirm in a detached manner, and Shiro put his right hand on Keith's knee and squeezed it.

Lance started to take a step back, to get out of the way but Shiro's fingers dug into his ass. “It's okay,” Shiro murmured against his skin, then turned his head to pay attention to what he was doing with Keith for just a moment. He watched, a little awed, as their bodies disengaged, Shiro's cock sliding from Keith's body with a filthy squelching sound, the  not at its base still visible despite diminishing.

The noise Keith made was low and satisfied as his ass hit the futon finally, thick stick liquid leaking slowly from it. “Holy _shit_ ,” Keith moaned, and flopped one arm over his eyes.

“I think he liked it,” Lance said dryly, and his eyes were drawn to Shiro's prosthetic hand as he ran it down the length of his still-erect cock. “You're still hard,” he said, surprised.

“Yeah,” Shiro's breaths were uneven, a little winded. His left hand slid from supporting Lance to his own thigh, as he squeezed his right hand around the base of it and started to stroke quickly. Lance wet his suddenly-dry lips as he watched Shiro move, and then looked to Keith blissed out on the futon, his legs still spread shamelessly wide.

Lance felt for a moment like he was back in Blue's cockpit, locked in free fall. He put his hand on Shiro's shoulder and squeezed it and Shiro looked up at him, the sweat caught in his hair glistening under the overhead lights; his face flushed and more open than Lance had ever seen. He was genuinely startled by the interruption, and Lance dropped to his knees beside Shiro before moving forward enough to throw his leg over Keith's lap and straddle him.

“What-?” Keith said blearily, not entirely there. He lifted his arm to stare up at Lance, but Lance was looking over his shoulder at Shiro, who now looked completely puzzled by Lance's actions.

“I think I want you to fuck me,” Lance said without a hitch or hesitation in his voice.

Shiro looked caught out for a moment. “You think…?” he said, and then concern crossed his face. “Lance, you're not in heat...”

“I'm aware of that,” Lance said, his face flushed red. He felt Keith grab his arm and he looked down at Keith and met his eye. “I mean, I know I'm not the ideal,” Lance continued while looking down at Keith, and he could see the confusion cross Keith's face underneath him. “But I'd rather like to get fucked, and if it's not going to be you I'll just ride Keith.”

He froze in place as Shiro's arms slid around his sides and crossed over his chest. He could feel Shiro's cock pressed between them, how large and hot it was, digging into his lower back as Shiro's breath ghosted over his ear. “I'll knot,” Shiro said, his voice pitched in a way that dug straight into Lance's core and made him shudder. “Do you think you can take my knot, when you're not in heat?”

_His knot_.

The words settled into him, made his stomach surge in a not-unpleasant way. Trying to keep his breathing under control now was just an exercise in futility, so Lance tilted his head back against Shiro and covered Shiro's hands on his chest with his own. “If Keith can take your knot, so can I,” he said brashly, not afraid.

“Okay,” Shiro said, and kissed the back of Lance's neck. “We can stop at any point you feel uncomfortable, all right? I don't want you hurting yourself just to do something Keith did.”

Lance made a very uncomfortable face, and looked back over his shoulder at Shiro. “Don't ever say that again,” he said. “That sounds like something my _dad_ would say; that's _fucked_ , Shiro.”

Keith grinned up at Lance lazily. “So call him daddy already,” he said, and Lance made another face and turned around proper.

“Dude, that's fucked up,” he said to Keith, and Shiro groaned loudly and put his palm on the back of Lance's head, pushing his head and shoulders down. “Hey!” Lance yelped, as he was forced to all fours.

“Lance has got a daddy kink,” Keith said in a sing-song voice, and Lance put his hand over Keith's face in an effort to shut him up.

"That is _not_ true,” he said. “Shiro, don't listen to him, Keith is a fucking liar. _Ow!_ ”

Shiro jerked his hand away from Lance's rear, but Lance was lifting his hand from Keith's face. “Don't bite, you jerk!”

Shiro sighed loudly and rested both of his hands on Lance's ass. “I'm going to have to gag you both next time, aren't I?” he said, and both Keith and Lance fell quiet and turned matching shades of red. “Seriously?” Shiro said, and shook his head as he rubbed one hand through the mess between Keith's legs first, taking as much of the slick as he could to use for lubrication. “I'm gonna have to remember that...”

 

* * *

 

Lance's breath caught again as Shiro pulled his fingers out. It was insane how different it felt than Keith's fingers, and besides he was pretty sure Keith had never put four fingers in him at the same time. “Fuck,” Lance moaned, and squeezed his eyes shut, as Shiro pushed all four back into him at once.

“You're gonna wreck him,” Keith said in a matter-of-fact tone, his hand brushing comfortingly into Lance's hair.

“I thought that was the plan.” Shiro's voice made Lance shudder again, and once again he withdrew his fingers entirely, only to slop more of the improvised lube into Lance. “Unless the plan has changed?”

There was a moment of silence, and then Lance said, strangled, “are you ever gonna actually fuck me?”

“Plan hasn't changed,” Keith reported as if Shiro couldn't hear Lance speak himself. Lance let out a low, aggravated groan and squinted his eyes open to glare at Keith.

“Fuck you,” he said, and then let out a strangled gasp when he felt something decidedly _not_ Shiro's fingers press at his stretched hole.

“Yeah,” Keith said, and let Lance's head go so he could squirm the way he wanted to. “I would, except you're getting fucked right now.”

His brilliant comeback was lost as Lance's eyes went-half closed and he focused on the sensation of Shiro slowly working himself in. It was definitely slow going, and Lance fell forward across Keith after a long push in.

Keith caught his head in both hands and kissed Lance aggressively, trying for distraction from the stretch and burn of Shiro's cock filling him slowly. “Fuck,” Lance said in a broken tone into Keith's mouth. “Fuck, _fuck_ -”

Shiro immediately stopped. “Is it too much-?” he asked.

“Don't fucking _stop_ ,” Lance nearly sobbed.

And then it was all in and Lance let out a long, low noise and dropped his head against the futon beside Keith's, his ass in the air and gripped tight by Shiro's hands. “That's it,” Shiro reported, his voice tight but also just a little impressed that they both managed to take all of his cock.

“Fuck,” Lance said again, muffled by futon and Keith's neck. “He's _so_ much bigger than you are.”

“No _shit_ ,” Keith said.

“Lance,” Shiro said, and rubbed his hand over Lance's lower back. “Is it okay if I move a bit? Slowly?”

Lance took several deep breaths, then lifted his head. “Slowly,” he said, and then the breath tore from his lung as Shiro did just that. Keith grabbed at his head again and pulled their foreheads together.

“Focus,” he said urgently. “Focus on me, Lance, you're okay.”

“Of course I'm fucking okay,” Lance's voice was wobbling but not upset. “I'm fucking _better_ than okay, oh _god-_ ” He tried to tilt his head back but Keith had it in a good grip, and instead let out a jagged moan as Shiro reseated himself inside. “Fuuuuck,” Lance said.

Shiro moved over him, and ran one hand up Lance's chest to his throat, pulling him up off of Keith for a moment. Lance went limp against Shiro's chest, and tilted his head back against him, swallowing against the firm palm over his throat. Lance couldn't find it in him to say anything, his entire body trembling against Shiro's.

“Lance,” Shiro said, almost directly into his ear. “Do you want me to claim you, too?”

It was as if time froze around him. Lance's mouth opened soundlessly, Shiro's hand at his throat holding firm but not punishingly so. “You can't,” Lance whispered. “You claimed Keith….”

“Do you want me to claim you?” Shiro asked again, and this time his teeth tugged at Lance's earlobe and fuck, he almost came from that alone.

Lance closed his eyes. He felt overwhelmingly safe here, in Shiro's arms, even with that underlying current of _alpha, alpha_ that whispered quietly in the back of his head, like a tornado siren gone in the distance. “Yeah,” Lance's voice was strangled but not uncertain.

“Yeah, what?” Shiro murmured, his hand tracing lower, flattening against his clavicle.

“I want you to claim me,” his voice was steadier now, and when Lance opened his eyes it was to see Keith watching them intently. Lance licked his lips and intended to say something, but then Shiro's hand brushed through the hair at the back of his neck and he bit Lance.

And, _oh_ – it didn't hurt, not in the way he had expected it to. Lance shuddered against Shiro as his teeth dug into his flesh and held there for a second before releasing … and there was little warning of Shiro's own orgasm inside until Lance very clearly felt him start to swell. He gasped and Shiro released him, let him fall forward over Keith who caught him with open arms and said, softly, “ride it out, you can ride it out, Lance-”

Shiro was knotting him. Shiro had _claimed_ him, and there was no panic, no fear – he was bonded to an alpha, _his_ alpha, and his alpha was knotting him.

Fuck, it _hurt_.

Lance let out a groan, because he was too full already, Shiro's cock and his cum and now this knot plugging him up; he tilted his head forward and squeezed his eyes closed because he wasn't going to _cry_ , he wasn't _overwhelmed_ – and then there was a sharp pain in his muscle, at the juncture of his neck and shoulder and his eyes flew open anyway.

Keith wiped blood from his lips, and Lance gasped, “you _bit_ me-!”

“You're mine, too,” Keith said, catching Lance's jaw with one hand. “You were mine _first._ ”

“Fuck,” Lance said, unable to contain himself any longer, and came across Keith's belly.


	45. Chapter 45

“I have never _seen_ so many different kinds of aliens,” Pidge said excitedly, gesturing with her utensil. It was somewhat spoon-like, but a lot longer and thinner than the spoons Hunk was used to working with. “It was like the cantina scene from Star Wars, but dialed up to like, eleven.”

Allura was sitting beside Pidge at the low table in their room; Hunk seated across from them and working their way through a repast of foreign food that, as it was not gelatinous-based in any form, Hunk found absolutely delectable. Allura was watching Pidge gesture with the utensil, before she frowned and looked over to Hunk. “I thought that your planet Earth had no congress with other lifeforms,” she said, puzzled. “And yet you have participated in a war? Not against the Galran Empire?”

“It's a movie,” Hunk said, chin in his hand. “You know, fiction?” He gestured with a utensil too, a long thin one meant for stabbing, not cutting. “Very popular on our planet.”

She nodded, brow still drawn in puzzled curiosity that disclaimed she wasn't entirely sure. “We had holodramas on Altea,” she said wistfully, and put her chin in her hand and mimicked Hunk's posture without thought. “I watched many when I was younger.”

“There was an alien that was shorter than me,” Pidge continued on. “And it had _three_ heads! And they all spoke different dialects of the same language or something and they were arguing the entire time they were behind us in the line-”

“That was a Tripektan,” Allura said. “They're not always the most … gracious creatures.” She made a face as if she wanted to say something else, but paused and sighed deeply, then looked over the food; there was far too much for just the three of them. “Are you _certain_ we shouldn't ask if the others want to join us for dinner?”

Hunk and Pidge exchanged a look, and Pidge shrugged. “They're probably sleeping by now,” she said. “Although Hunk can always go knock on their door.”

Hunk's glance turned dirty, and Pidge smirked at him, eyebrow raised. “Oh, I can always go-” Allura said, starting to stand up and Hunk almost knocked the table over shooting upright from his seated position.

“No, no,” he said quickly. “Wouldn't want to trouble you Princess, I can knock on their door, it's not a big deal.” He took a large step backward and turned on his heel, toward the door that connected Allura's room to the shared porch. Allura watched him march out the door, and as he swung around out of sight she sat back down and smoothed the soft fabric of her native dress.

“I don't see what all the fuss is about,” she said, frowning at her plate of food before looking over at Pidge. “It's just sex.”

Pidge shrugged and pushed her glasses up her nose. “They're boys,” she said. “They get flustered over _everything._ Besides, I bet it stinks over there, let Hunk deal with it.”

Allura tilted her head, and then nodded in agreement. “Fair enough,” she agreed, and picked up the long, thin stabbing utensil, using it to spear a green piece of meat. “Did you want any more of this aguasnake? It's delicious...”

 

* * *

 

It was Shiro who answered the door when Hunk knocked, wearing, thankfully, his underwear. Of course it was tight and left very little to the imagination but Hunk was not checking out his leader's package and was instead here to talk about food. Or something.

In reality, the first words that came out Hunk's mouth were, “if you hurt Lance we're going to have a _very_ unpleasant conversation.”

Shiro's eyes widened, eyebrows lifting at Hunk's words. Then, to his surprise, Shiro smiled gently. “Lance is sleeping,” he said softly. “But I promise you he's fine. What do you need, Hunk?”

“The Princess has dinner laid out in her room,” Hunk said finally. He didn't try to see around Shiro into the room, because there was too much on the list of 'things he really didn't want to try to scrub from his memory' that could possibly be occurring behind Shiro; so he somehow maintained eye contact instead. “She was wanting to know when you guys would be joining us.”

“Uh,” Shiro looked over his shoulder and turned faintly pink. “I don't think we'll be joining you,” he said finally. “By the time I get everyone up and dressed I'm sure the food would be cold.”

Hunk nodded his head and tried not to think about anything at all. Maybe the food still in Allura's room or the steam from the baths behind them or something that was not the glimpse of Lance's naked rear as he was sprawled half on top of Keith that Hunk caught when Shiro turned. “Understood,” he said. “I'll … let her know.”

“Thank you, Hunk,” Shiro said, smiling easy and open and Hunk had to remind himself that the reason he felt light-headed was the temperature outside. “I appreciate it.”

 

* * *

 

“Dinner, huh?” Keith said as Shiro sat down carefully on the futon again. Lance stirred a little, his face pressed to Keith's chest, and Keith lifted his hand from where he'd been carding his fingers slowly through Lance's hair. He waited a moment but Lance didn't move his head, so he resumed stroking Lance's head.

“Yeah,” Shiro said. He remained upright for a moment, legs crossed and hands resting on his thighs. Keith recognized the expression on Shiro's face; he was looking off into the distance, at something only he could see. Then he took a deep breath and returned to the present, before looking down at Keith and Lance. “How is he?”

“'He's' fine,” Lance said without opening his eyes or moving his head. Keith lifted his hand quickly, as if he had been shocked by an exposed wire, and Lance opened one eye. “You can keep doing that, it felt nice,” he murmured.

After a moment, Keith put his hand back on Lance's head. Shiro laughed a little, and leaned over them, kissing the top of Lance's head before moving a little closer and kissing Keith. “You smell different,” Shiro said, when he lifted his head. He frowned at that, unsure of what to make of it, then lowered his head to Lance's and inhaled his scent too.

Lance snorted against Keith's skin and lifted his head finally. “That _tickles_ ,” he complained, and Shiro sat up all the way and rubbed his nose, frowning still. “What are you _doing?_ ”

“Scenting,” Shiro said, and covered his nose with one hand as he thought hard. Lance gave a little shiver and put his cheek back on Keith's chest. Shiro looked down at him. “You don't like that, do you.” It wasn't phrased as a question.

Lance was quiet for a long moment, his eyes closed. “It's okay if it's you,” he said finally.

“Lance,” Keith started to say, but Shiro touched Keith's shoulder, and their eyes met. Keith fell silent as Lance inhaled once.

“There was a pair of alphas a few years ahead of our class at the garrison,” Lance said, eyes closed so he didn't have to look at anyone. His hand curled into a loose fist on Keith's belly, where it had been resting. “They would … scent the omegas that had presented, it was some sort of hazing shit in the locker room, it's stupid as fuck.” He pushed himself up off of Keith, eyes open but staring at the futon between them. His voice had gone very soft.

“I presented really early, I didn't know what it meant when they cornered me during one of my first heats...” Lance inhaled again, raggedly, and put one arm over his chest, fingers digging into his own shoulder. “I didn't….”

He didn't flinch when Shiro's arm went over his shoulder, and he relaxed into Shiro's embrace as Shiro pulled him close. Lance pressed his face to Shiro's chest and took a great, gulping breath, shaking hard. “It's okay,” Shiro murmured into his hair, and rubbed Lance's back gently. “It's okay.”

“It's _not_ okay,” Keith snarled, sitting upright and his hands balled into fists in the mess of blankets. “Lance, I need names, I'm going to rip their fucking dicks off and force-feed them the remains.”

“ _Keith_ ,” Shiro said sharply. “You're not helping.”

“It's okay,” Lance said. “I'm pretty sure Hunk beat him to it.” He was quiet for a long moment, then closed his eyes and turned his face away again. Lance shivered in Shiro's arms when Shiro brushed the fingers of his left hand over the still-raw bite on the back of his neck.

“Feel this?” Shiro said, and Lance shuddered again and nodded, as Shiro let his hand cup over the wound. “This means that if anyone _ever_ touches you again without your permission, I will rip out their throat.”

“Unless I get to them first,” Keith growled.

“Keith won't get to them first,” Shiro said. His voice was chillingly level. “I will definitely get to them first.”

Lance lifted his head. “Are you two seriously arguing over who gets to hypothetically kill someone on my behalf?”

“Who's being hypothetical?” Keith said, and Lance leaned away from Shiro, twisting in his arms and frowning at Keith.

“I _can_ take care of myself, you know,” he pointed out.

“That's rich, coming from a guy who got handcuffed to a tree by an alien.” Keith crossed his arms and glared at Lance, who glowered right back.

Shiro sighed and leaned forward, setting his chin on the crown on Lance's head while Lance and Keith squabbled. Then he smiled, and kissed the top of Lance's head.


	46. Chapter 46

When Keith got up finally, Lance rolled over and snuggled against Shiro without waking. Keith stood there for a long moment, looking down at the other two bodies on the futon – Shiro sprawled on his back, head pillowed on his prosthetic arm, and Lance was currently in the process of curling up against him. Shiro moved a little, shifted his left arm and tucked it around Lance without seeming to wake as well, and Keith smiled softly, before picking his way out of the mess of covers on unsteady legs.

He ached all over, chest and thighs and more besides and when he stepped into the refresher and pulled the mirror down so he could look at the bite mark on his skin, the bruising not subtle at all. On earth it would be a badge of honor, he knew that much at least; although it would be covered up because claim marks weren't really considered acceptable to be flaunted in public.

But they were a billion miles from Earth. Trillions of miles. Some unfathomable distance, and Keith was standing in an alien hotel room trying to figure out which of seven different spigots would dispense water into the sink before giving up and getting in the actual shower, which at least only had two knobs but apparently blasted ice-cold water at a velocity that was comparable to a fire hose.

The noise he made was, thankfully, unable to be heard over the water.

By the time he emerged, cleaned up and dripping wet, Shiro was sitting up on the futon, a datapad resting on his knee. Lance was still curled up, head down, and apparently asleep. Shiro looked up at Keith and raised an eyebrow as Keith dried his hair as best he could. “I see you figured out the shower.”

“Yeah, let it run for like, two minutes before you get in,” Keith said, and dropped the towel to his shoulders. “I'm going to go out and explore, kinda get the lay of the place. Just in case.” He had intended to slip out while they were sleeping, but since Shiro was up he might as well tell him his plan. “I don't trust that the Galra don't come to this planet.”

Shiro's expression shifted, slightly, like Keith had said something he shouldn't. He looked down at the datapad but clearly wasn't looking at whatever was displayed on the screen. “I'm more worried about Coran, and the castle-ship,” Shiro said.

Keith folded his arms and nodded. The castle-ship and the lions were particularly vulnerable, although Coran had assured them several times over that running the ship at low power and with particle shielding to full meant that it wouldn't ping on most proximity scans. “A ship would have to be right up on us to even see us on their sensors,” he had proclaimed grandly in the launch bay.

“All the same,” Keith said. “I'll feel more comfortable knowing a few extra escape routes.” He looked around the room, and Shiro jerked his head toward the door, where Keith's tunic had been hung up neatly beside Shiro's.

“I'll come with you,” Shiro said as he watched Keith dress. “I should stretch my legs too.”

“No need,” Keith said. “I'll move faster by myself.” He looked over at what he could see of Lance, curled around Shiro's side, in the sheets. “Someone ought to be here when he wakes up,” Keith said and then looked away quickly, hoping he had fought off that particular blush.

“Lance will probably sleep the entire time we're gone,” Shiro said mildly. “But I can't argue that you would probably move faster than I would.” He hesitated again. “There's also the chance that someone might … recognize me.”

Keith locked eyes with Shiro, the recognition dawning in his eyes. “You said you'd been here before.”

“Not to the surface,” Shiro said, and looked away from Keith's too-intense gaze. “But yes, the circuit brought me through their orbital station.” Shiro forced a smile to his face but it didn't reach his eyes. “Be careful, okay? Take one of the comm units with you too, just in case.”

Keith nodded his head, sitting down to lace up the ridiculous sandals he'd worn from the ship. “I have my bayard, too,” he said. “I'll be fine, I'm just looking around. After all, Allura and Pidge didn't cause a stir, so there shouldn't be any issues.”

“Keith,” Shiro said, as Keith stood up again. He held out his hand, and Keith stepped into his reach, and was then drawn closer, stepping on the futon. Shiro brushed aside the hem of the tunic, which stopped well above Keith's knee, and kissed the muscle of his thigh before looking up at him. Keith flushed a very dark shade of red, and this time the smile reached Shiro's eyes.

“I'll be careful,” Keith promised him, and Shiro kissed his thigh again.

 

* * *

 

Lance let out a long, low groan, sinking into the water, and not stopping until it lapped at his nose. Whatever he was attempting to say was an unintelligible stream of bubbles that broke to the surface of the mineral bath. Shiro watched this go on for a solid minute, sitting on the edge of the baths with his feet and calves in the water.

“If he's trying to drown himself, remind him that he has to put his nose under the water too,” Pidge called from the other end of the bath, wrapped tightly in a white towel.

Lance burbled more, and Shiro sighed. “That's not a nice thing to say, Pidge,” he said, and she shrugged.

When they had come out to the baths a little earlier, Allura and Pidge had been sitting in the water at the far side, Pidge in her towel and Allura … not. Fortunately the air was thick enough with steam that Lance hadn't noticed, yet, and Shiro was intending to keep it that way.

After a long moment, Lance finally surfaced …. or at least brought his chin above water. He was looking at Shiro thoughtfully, and Shiro really wasn't used to the scrutinizing expression on Lance's face. Lance said, quite matter-of-fact, “Keith's in heat.”

Shiro blinked at him. This was common knowledge, he had _been_ there. “Yes…?” he said, wondering what Lance was on about.

“Hm,” Lance said, and ducked his chin back under the water. Shiro was more puzzled than not by this, but let him be.

“Shiro!” Allura called, and Shiro's attention was drawn by the princess's voice. He looked over to her and then automatically shot his eyes elsewhere because despite what he had expected, she was still not covering up with a towel and now she was _coming over to them._ “I did have a question.”

“P-Princess,” Shiro said, and forgot to modulate the level of his voice. “Maybe a towel-?”

Lance's head whipped around so fast that Shiro swore he could hear his vertebrae crack. “Lance!” Shiro snapped, but he was already staring, eyes as wide as dinner plates as Allura stopped, the water hitting above her navel as she walked.

“A towel?” Allura said quizzically, and folded her arms. “Why would I need a towel, I'm not getting out just yet.” She met Shiro's eye without flinching in the slightest. “Why are you blushing?”

“I think Lance is actually drowning now,” Pidge called helpfully, and Shiro glanced over to see Lance in the water up to his eyes, locked on to the Princess's chest. He also was no longer bubbling.

“ _Lance_ ,” Shiro said firmly, and Lance's nose emerged. Allura shifted her position and the movement drew Shiro's eye again and he realized she'd propped her hands on her hips and now he was staring too, and with some effort dragged his attention up to her face.

“You had a question?” he said, somehow.

“Can we actually expect you three for dinner tomorrow?” Allura asked pleasantly. “You won't be too busy with your team-building activities _all_ day, I would imagine.”

“Team-building activities?” Shiro repeated, bewildered. “Team-building… _oh_ -”

“She means the sex,” Pidge was clearly enjoying all of this _far_ more than was appropriate.

“What is with all the _yelling?_ ” Hunk asked, opening the door to the middle room. Shiro and Allura both turned to look at Hunk, and Hunk took one look at Allura and went an alarming bright shade of pink. Wordlessly, he closed the door to his room.

Allura heaved a very large sigh and crossed her arms again, before turning back to Pidge, who had come away from the wall, holding her towel up and making her way over. “You were absolutely right,” she said. “It's almost disgusting.”

“You should probably cover up before you short-circuit Shiro any further,” Pidge said cheerfully. “Where's Keith? I wanted to see his reaction too.”

Pidge was the safest place to look, and Shiro focused on her. “He went out to explore a bit,” he said. “He's been gone longer than I thought, but I'm sure he's fine.”

She nodded her head thoughtfully. “Hunk and I found a junker who spoke Common,” she said. “He… actually, they, I think, it spoke in two different voices … they had a chunk of Galra tech. Can you come with us tomorrow to look at it? I want to see if there's anything useful that we can reverse-engineer and use, and, well… you're the expert with Galra stuff.” Shiro must have been wearing a strange expression, because she tacked on a strangled, “Sorry, if you don't wanna-”

“No, that's fine,” Shiro said. “In the morning.”

Pidge grinned at him. “Thanks, Shiro.” She grabbed the top of Lance's head and pulled his face out of the water. “Don't drown yourself, I actually enjoy your company sometimes.”

“What?” Lance said dazedly.

“Damn, that's one hell of a hickey,” she said, and Lance clapped his hand over the back of his neck self-consciously.

“Mind your beeswax,” he said haughtily.

“Yeah, whatever,” Pidge said and rolled her eyes.


	47. Chapter 47

Shiro got up first, which was expected. “I'm going with Pidge and Hunk and the Princess,” he announced, as if his wiggling out from between Lance and Keith and stomping around the room and pretending to make a load of noise out of nothing hadn't woken the other two paladins in his bed.

Lance did not bother to lift his head from the pillow, instead raising a hand in the air with a thumbs-up acknowledgment.

“Seriously? Neither of you want to go?”

Keith groaned something into his arm that wasn't decipherable by human standards, and Lance said, “go away. Sleeping.”

Shiro shrugged and let himself out of the room, clearly deciding it wasn't worth the fight. Keith groaned again and rolled his face on his arm, trying to block out the natural light that was cutting through the large window set toward the baths. After a moment, Lance lifted his head and, certain that Shiro was definitely gone, leaned over and poked Keith in the side. “Hey,” Lance said. “You awake?”

“-king _kill_ you if you touch me again,” Keith growled into his arm. Lance, who had very little self-preservation instincts when it came to the other paladins, poked Keith's exposed side again, under his arm, and Keith flailed his arm out, smacking at Lance blindly (and accurately), so that Lance yelped and rolled away. _“_ What, _what?”_ Keith said, lifting his head. “What the fuck _is_ it, I wanna fucking _sleep_!”

Lance, only an arm's length away, said, “are you still in heat?”

Keith glared at Lance. “If you want to fuck me that badly, just _say_ so,” he said after a moment, grumbling. “I can sleep right through your tiny dick-”

“My dick is not _tiny!_ ”

“It is compared to Shiro's.” Keith retorted. Lance couldn't argue with that and fumed for a second.

“Yeah, well, so's _yours!_ ”

“I know, we're about the same size.” Keith didn't even seem put out by that, he yawned again and rubbed a hand over his face. “Are you done throwing a fit? Can I sleep? I'm going back to sleep.”

Lance sat up, and smacked Keith on the shoulder. “Are you still in heat?” he demanded, and Keith groaned in annoyance and smacked back at Lance.

“I don't know, are _you?_ ”

“Keith, I'm trying to be serious here!” Lance flattened both of his hands against the bedding. “You let an alpha fuck you without protection while you're in _heat_.”

“And?” Keith buried his face back into the pillow.

“And? _And?_ You could be fucking _pregnant_ , what the hell is 'and'?” Lance shoved Keith in the shoulder, enough so that Keith rolled up on his side and squinted at Lance. “Does this not worry you at _all_? I've been thinking about it all night!”

“You're really noisy,” Keith said, and covered his mouth when he yawned.

Lance looked like the top of his head was going to come off. “Keith!”

“I'm still in heat,” Keith said, and rubbed the back of his hand over his nose. “Stick your nose in my ass and check for yourself if you don't believe me.”

“You are such an asshole. I was really worried!” Lance folded his arms and pouted, and Keith groaned into his pillow and lifted his head. He glared at Lance, then groaned a second time and sat up slowly on his knees.

“Fuck, and _now_ I'm awake,” he grunted. “If you were gonna throw this fit why did you wait for Shiro to leave?”

“Because I don't know how he'd react if he thought he'd knocked you up,” Lance poked Keith in the chest with one finger. “I don't know how the two of you managed to get through _any_ of the health requirements in the garrison. Did you flunk your sex ed course and just didn't want to say anything?”

Keith leaned in and squinted at Lance. “Huh,” he said, and Lance put his hand out to stop Keith in his tracks. It wasn't enough, and Keith grabbed him by the back of the neck, hand flattening atop the still-healing claim mark on the back of his neck.

“ _Keith!_ ” Lance yelped, as Keith ran his tongue over the somewhat-faded bite mark on his shoulder, then bit the rough skin there tenderly. Lance jerked and tried to shove him away, but that didn't quite work out the way he'd planned and Keith kept his hand curled tight over the back of Lance's neck. “What the _fuck_ , man!”

“It was healing,” Keith murmured, and sat back, letting Lance go slowly. “It won't stay, not like an alpha's mark. I have to refresh it.” Lance covered the fresh wound with his hand and smeared some droplets of blood on his skin, frowning.

“I wanna mark you,” he said. “It's only fair.”

Without a word Keith tilted his head to one side, leaving his neck completely vulnerable. Lance wet his lips and leaned forward, catching Keith's shoulder and pulling him in at the same time. He wasn't exactly sure where the best place to bite was, and in the end decided that low on Keith's neck, in a spot that would be covered by the large collar of that ridiculous cropped jacket he liked to wear.

Keith made an obscene noise when Lance bit him, and that caused him to jerk in surprise. Keith put his hand over the fresh bite mark as soon as Lance yanked himself away, and then ran his fingers through the blood that had welled up, and wiped it over his lips, before licking his fingers clean. “S-sorry,” Lance said, wiping his hand over the back of his mouth, eyes wide at the mark he had left on Keith's skin.

Keith didn't answer right away, staring at Lance and breathing heavily, fingers still resting lightly on his lips. Lance kept looking at his fingers there, and his lips, and his eyes darted from Keith's face back to his lips a few times, before something internal switched over from “we're still fighting” to “fuck it.” Lance grabbed Keith's wrist and yanked his hand away from his mouth so that he could kiss him.

 

* * *

 

 

“You know,” Keith said later, kicking some of the fluid-soaked covers off the futon and away, “I _do_ know that Shiro could've knocked me up. I'm not _stupid_.”

“I never can tell for certain,” Lance said, laying on his back beside Keith, and using the edge of one of the blankets to wipe his mouth. “Sometimes you _are_ really stupid. Most of the time, actually. _Ow!_ Don't kick my head, jerk!”

“Oh, was that your head?” Keith stared at the ceiling, his head pillowed on his arm as he kicked blindly at Lance again, but without much power behind it. “Sorry, I thought it was a pillow. It has the same amount of fluff in it.”

“I – _ooh_ ,” Lance said, and then crossed his arms. “I really fucking hate you.”

“Yeah, I hate you too,” Keith said, and ran his fingers over the fresh bite on his neck fondly.

 

* * *

 

“Is Lance going to wear clothes again at any point in the next day and a half?” Hunk asked as he put down the crate he was carrying just inside the door of the room. “Because – and I just want you to know this because I think it's important – his clothes are still in _my_ room.”

“I was wondering where they were,” Shiro said absently, putting the crate he was carrying next to Hunk's. “That explains a lot.”

Pidge, walking behind them and carrying a junked patrol robot about three times larger than the drone she had adopted a few weeks prior, said, “once I get this one working I'm going to call it Spover.”

“Spover?” Allura asked.

She hefted the round, featureless drone over her head. “Yeah! Like, Super Rover! Spover!”

“Maybe you could just call it Spot,” Hunk suggested. “That doesn't sound stupid.”

Pidge glared at him, the half-constructed robot drone still held perilously above her head. “Just for that, I'm _definitely_ calling it Spover.”

Allura had been wearing a thoughtful face. “I think spover is some kind of fungus. Or possibly genital disease.” Hunk suppressed a snort at that, opening the far door that faced the baths.

“Fucking hell,” Pidge said. “Don't tell Lance.”

“Language,” Shiro said absently, as he poked through the crate of odds and ends.

“Quiznak,” Pidge said, and rolled her eyes.

 


	48. Chapter 48

When Hunk opened the door, it was to see Lance in the middle of the room, picking over the crate of miscellaneous scraps that the junk seller had pushed on them, along with the crate of busted up Galra tech. Lance looked up at the sound of the door opening, but didn't even have the gall to look startled. "Come back for your clothes?" Hunk asked, as the door shut behind him.

"Yeah," Lance said. He was wearing a towel, or at least holding one mostly shut. He picked up metal tubing and held it out at Hunk. "You realize that there's a lightsaber in here?"

"That's not a lightsaber," Hunk said. "And don't point it at me, I don't know what it is, but it's not a lightsaber."

Lance flicked the button on the tube a few times, then pointed the end at his face and frowned at it. Hunk shook his head and retrieved Lance's tunic, from where he'd hung it by the door. "It's broken," Lance complained, and dropped the metal tube back into the crate.

"Funny how that works, when it's a crate of junk," Hunk said. He hesitated a moment, looking over at Lance, who seemed ... himself, and then sighed. "Look, is everything ... all right?"

Lance looked up at Hunk and blinked once, owlishly. "Why wouldn't it be? Did Shiro say something?"

"No, Shiro didn't say anything." Hunk stepped back into the main part of the room, Lance's tunic now folded over his arm. He stopped, though, before he got too close to Lance; he could see that the bite mark on Lance's shoulder was vivid, and bruised a deep purple. "I'm worried about you."

This seemed to puzzle Lance further. He sat down, legs crossing under him automatically, one hand still holding the towel closed, the other braced on his knee. "I'm fine," Lance said, and rubbed his neck with one hand and then winced a little. "Oh," he said, realization dawning as his fingers brushed the bite on the back of his neck. "Is this because I've bonded to Shiro?"

" _What?_ " Hunk said, his voice going high. "You did _what?_ "

Lance's cheeks went pink. "You don't have to sound so happy for me," he snapped, and crossed his arms.

"I, man-" Hunk sat down next to the crate, an arm's length away, staring at Lance. Lance glared right back at him, and Hunk sighed. "Dude, I want to be happy for you, okay? I'm just _worried._ You have a bad track record with alphas-"

Lance narrowed his eyes. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"-and isn't Shiro in love with Keith, anyway?" Hunk finished out, as if Lance hadn't interrupted.

"So you're okay with us doing our thing if it's just sex, but when it's more than that, that's when you get all shirty?" Lance said.

"Are _you_ even in love with Shiro?" Hunk demanded, and Lance slapped both of his hands on his knees.

"What the _fuck_ , Hunk-" He started to get to his feet. "All right, you know what? I'm done. Gimme my shit and I'll go."

Hunk watched him. "I don't want to see you hurt again," he said, finally, and Lance flushed red.

"Shiro's not gonna hurt me."

"Yeah, but what if he _does?_ " Hunk's voice was level. Lance stood there, chest heaving and glaring at Hunk like he could incinerate him with his eyes, and Hunk matched his gaze evenly. "What then, Lance?"

"He's not gonna," Lance said. His hand went to the back of his neck again, touching that bite, that reminder. "He didn't even _want_ to, I begged him to..." he trailed off, gone red again, this time from embarrassment. "Hunk, you're my best friend, okay? You're like a brother to me. Trust me, I'm okay. Everything's okay with this, and if anything isn't you will be the _first_ to know."

Hunk looked away from Lance, focusing his attention on the box of scrap electronics. "I trust you," he said finally. "I'm just-" he gestured one hand and looked up at Lance, and he remembered the utter _terror_ in Lance's eyes at being noticed by an alpha.

"Yeah, worried," Lance said sharply, then his face softened and he sighed. He took a step closer and sat down right next to Hunk, but didn't look at him. Hunk leaned a little bit away in surprise. "Thanks," Lance muttered, still not looking at him. "For always looking out for me."

"Whoa," Hunk said on reflex. "Who are you and what have you done with Lance?"

"Ha ha," Lance said. "Can I get my clothes back now, or do I have to go to dinner in a towel? I'm okay with that," he added, and Hunk pushed the tunic in his face.

" _I'm_ not okay with that," he said. "If I never have to see your naked ass again it will be too soon."

 

* * *

 

 

Dinner was once again a large spread set out in the room Allura and Pidge were sharing. In addition to the table with the repast, Pidge had the guts of the robot she was recalibrating scattered about in a corner of the room, and had to be encouraged away at least twice. "I think Spover sounds cute," Keith said, and Lance stared across the table at Keith as if he'd never seen him before.

"You _would_ ," Lance said.

Allura cleared he throat. "After tomorrow we will be departing the inn," she said, drawing everyone's attention. "We will be embarking on the pilgrimage of temples, which is not entirely uncommon any longer, based on the tourism trade we witnessed yesterday."

"There are paid skiffs that will fly you between them," Pidge said.

"Outrageous," Allura said. "Part of the whole _point_ is getting to the temples on foot. They're not so far apart that it can't be done over the course of a few days." She looked upset over this. "There are even _waystations_ on the path now. What happened to the spiritual journey?"

"So we're taking the skiffs?" Hunk asked.

"No!" Allura said.

"I knew it," Lance muttered.

"Can you explain the purpose of this again, Princess?" Shiro asked. "Coran seemed to think it was training of some kind."

Allura took a deep breath, and set the utensil she had been holding on the table, before producing her datapad and setting it flat on the table as well. A gesture brought the device to life, and with it came a holographic image of the now-familiar form of Voltron. "As you are well aware," Allura said, "it takes a strong bond of teamwork and cohesion to form the lions into Voltron. You have all progressed well in that regard."

Lance smirked suggestively at Keith, and raised an eyebrow. Before he could open his mouth, Shiro said, firmly, " _Lance._ "

Hunk said, "I sense a 'but' coming on."

Allura smiled at Hunk. "Not entirely. I am quite proud of how far you all have come. However, you are still novices in communicating with your lions, and in being paladins. The journey to the temples is supposed to strengthen a paladin's bond with their teammates, but the temples present obstacles and challenges intended to strengthen a paladin's bond with their lions." As she spoke, the simulation of Voltron had come apart, into its separate lions, arranged in an outward-pointing circle."

"But there are tourists," Pidge said. "Everywhere."

She nodded her head. "That makes things difficult; a lot can change in ten thousand years. The first temple on the journey is the Temple of Thales; all things considered, we should arrive there midday overmorrow."

Pidge furrowed her brow, like there was something there she'd forgotten. "Whose lion does that represent?"

Allura smiled. "You'll find that out when we arrive."

"Shouldn't our lions be here, if we're supposed to be forging a greater connection with them?" Keith asked. Hunk nodded his head, agreeing with the question.

"What are these obstacles and challenges?" Lance asked. "It's not like, giant rocks or poison darts or tripwires, right?" He smacked his hand on the table. "Do we have to battle an evil version of ourselves in a giant tree?"

"That... is oddly specific," Allura said.

"Ignore Lance," Pidge said. "We do."

"Hey!" Lance said.

"Guys," Shiro said. "Settle down." He raised his eyebrow at Allura. "I'm willing to bet that you're not going to share any more details, are you, Princess?"

She shook her head and smiled at Shiro. "You would be correct," she said. "There is nothing more that you need to know at the moment. If anything changes I will be glad to give you further information, that is why I am accompanying you on the journey."

"We have one more day here though," Lance said. "Right?" When Allura nodded he slammed back the cup full of amber liquid that was sitting at his elbow and stood up. "In that case I'm getting back in the bath!"

"Lance," Shiro said, and put one arm out to stop his passage behind Shiro, toward the door. Lance frowned at Shiro, who curled his arm in and brought Lance a step inward.

"What-?" Lance said, puzzled by Shiro's movement, and then Shiro gestured for him to lean down, so he did. When Shiro kissed him, gently, but in full view of _everybody_ , Lance's entire face went pink. "Shiro!"

"We'll join you later," Shiro said, releasing Lance and smiling at him as if no one else was present. Lance almost stumbled over his own feet fleeing the room, and when Shiro turned back to the table with a calm expression, he looked around at everyone's stunned expressions and said, "what?"

 

* * *

 

"In front of _everybody?_ " Keith said, as Shiro steered him gently back into their room, hand on the small of his back. Keith barely was able to keep his indignation in, and Shiro was finding that somewhat adorable. "I can't believe you did that."

"Are you jealous?" Shiro murmured, closing the door behind him, and when he turned to look at Keith, Keith was right there in his space. He slammed one palm against the door behind Shiro and _glared_ up at him. Shiro almost tried to cover his mouth to suppress his grin, because no, _this_ was definitely adorable. "I think you're jealous," he teased lightly, as Keith leaned up and kissed him aggressively.

Keith's scent had definitely changed, Shiro realized as they kissed. It had a faintly sweeter edge to it, and he couldn't explain it. However, he _could_ still recognize that Keith was still in heat; the pheromones causing his entire body to come alive. Shiro ran both his hands down Keith's back and cupped under his ass; Keith broke the seal of their mouths to yelp in surprise as Shiro hiked him into the air; and his legs immediately hooked around Shiro's hips for balance.

"What are you _doing?_ " Keith hissed, as Shiro shifted his grip, better balancing Keith against him.

"Something different," Shiro replied. He looked up at Keith, holding him like this brought his eyeline higher than Shiro's own, and that gave Shiro better access to his throat for kissing and sucking on. He ran his tongue over his alpha mark on Keith's shoulder, it was healing slowly and scarring over, to show proof of Shiro's claim. However, there was a new mark on the opposite side of Keith's neck, not as large or as savage, but purple and yellow, bruising up nicely. "Did Lance do this?"

"Yeah," Keith said, his arms over Shiro's broad shoulders now. "I wanted him to mark me, too." He turned red at the words, as if the thought of offering himself up to Lance for anything was shameful. "His won't stay, though. It'll heal." He looked away, and then back to Shiro. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Shiro wasn't entirely sure the expression he was wearing, and tried to push it aside. "I'm glad you and Lance have that bond," he said. "I think it makes you better teammates."

"As opposed to the bond we have," Keith said. "Or the one you have with Lance?"

Shiro cocked his head. "Wasn't this your idea?" he asked carefully, then adjusted his grip again, putting his back against the door to better brace Keith's weight.

"Yeah." Keith didn't break his eye contact.

"Are you regretting it?"

Now he did look away. "No," Keith said turning it over in his head. "I just ... I want you to look at _me_."

"Ah," Shiro said, and shifted him so he could kiss the tip of Keith's nose. "Jealous."

Keith refused to acknowledge this word. "Are you gonna put me down any time soon?" he asked instead. "Or are we going to stay like this?"

"Dunno," Shiro said, and shuffled their bodies together again. "What do you feel like?"

"I feel like I want your dick," Keith said, and seemed pleased at the color that flushed on Shiro's face. "Inside me, in case that wasn't clear."

Shiro kissed Keith's jaw, and then bit him, gently, on the neck. "Well in that case, you're wearing _far_ too many clothes," he said, and started walking them toward the futon.

 


	49. Chapter 49

Lance folded his arms over the ledge of the bath and frowned. It was nice to be in them alone, the hot water felt good, but he couldn't help but feel a little left out of things. He could hear the people in the next set of rooms, over the fence, their dialect and tongue a mixture of common and some sort of braying, horse-like noise – he couldn't pull full sentences, but they were making a heck of a lot of noise and clearly enjoying themselves. Lance sighed and put his cheek on his arms, staring at nothing at all.

He could smell the heady scent of sex in the air; it was strong enough that even not on his cycle it was affecting him. Shiro was probably knotting Keith again. Lance flushed and closed his eyes and remembered the weight of Shiro against him; then he groaned and buried his face completely in his arms. Lance shifted and then smiled against his folded arms.

He'd really liked it, and he wasn't sure how to feel about that.

The click of a door opening made him lift his head, and Hunk stepped out from the middle room, holding a towel around himself. He spotted Lance and headed toward him, sitting down on the edge of the baths and dunking his feet in the water. Lance rolled his head on his arms so he could look at Hunk, and smirk. "I thought you said you didn't want to see my bare ass again," he said, and floated himself in the water so the aforementioned ass broke the surface.

" _Man_ ," Hunk said. "I will make a rattail and smack you so good you won't sit right for a _week._ "

"If I can sit up after taking Shiro's-" Lance started to say, but Hunk clamped his hands over his ears and started humming loudly. " _Monster cock,"_ Lance said even louder, and Hunk screwed his eyes shut as if that would help block out Lance's words.

"I DON'T WANT TO KNOW I DON'T WANT THAT MENTAL IMAGE," Hunk chanted, and Lance rolled his eyes and put his chin in his hand, staring at Hunk expectantly and waiting for him to be done.

After a moment, Hunk cracked open one eye, and looked at Lance. Lance grinned at him pleasantly, and Hunk lowered his hands. "Monster cock," Lance said, and Hunk groaned loudly. "Your lame-ass rattails have _nothing_ on that."

"I don't even know why I like you, you're a dick," Hunk said, and leaned back on one hand. He looked up at the sky above, the planet of Eaphus taking up most of the view in brilliant swirls of color. "That's an amazing view," he said after a moment, and Lance shifted in the water, turning around to sit properly on the bench. "Can you even _believe_ where we are right now?"

"Yeah, if I had known that 'getting conscripted into fighting in an alien war thousands of years old' was a consequence of sneaking out I _might_ have had second thoughts," Lance said, and Hunk shot him a look.

The door to Pidge and Allura's room opened, and Pidge poked her head out. "Oh," she called. "Hunk, are you getting in?"

Hunk twisted so he could look back at her. "Kinda. What's up?"

"Nothing big, I just wanted you to look at some of the wiring I pulled out of this thing and make sure I won't, you know, turn it into a bomb. Accidentally." Pidge shrugged.

"I think you need to take a look at that," Lance said. "Pidge is making bombs again."

"Not _again_ ," Pidge yelled at Lance. "Stop telling people that!"

Hunk rolled his eyes and got up, stepping out of the water and holding his towel shut. "Bring it out on the porch, I'm not walking in the Princess's room in a towel."

Lance lolled his head to the side and laughed.

 

* * *

 

When he opened the door to the room, it was to see Keith sprawled out on the futon. Lance let the door shut behind him and looked around for Shiro, then realized that the shower was running. "Ah," he said, only a little put out. "I missed all the fun."

"Mm," Keith lifted his head and looked to Lance, who walked to the futon and knelt at it's edge. Seeing Keith like this, quiet and sated, made his stomach flip-flop in a not wholly unpleasant way. Keith lifted his head a little more and turned his face into Lance's hand as Lance brushed his fingers back through Keith's sweat-soaked hair.

"Did he knot you again?" he asked mildly, and Keith nodded his head and hummed in satisfaction. He rolled up onto his side, and reached out a hand to Lance, to pull his face down into a kiss. "God, are you _still_ hard?" Lance said, eying Keith's cock, straining and red still. "You are such a slut."

Keith almost _purred_ , and he put his hand on Lance's thigh. "Wow," Lance said as he watched Keith tremble all over. "You liked that, huh?"

"Fuck," Keith groaned, and reached his hand down between his legs, tugging on his cock. He was slick with fluid, and his fingers squelched over the head. Lance was not unaware of his own arousal, and that noise shouldn't be half as hot as it was.

"Can't believe Shiro just left you here like this," Lance said, as Keith pushed himself up to his knees. He was watching Lance with predatory eyes, and Lance had seen that expression on his face before. "Mm," Lance said, and tapped a finger to his own lips. "You gotta ask _nice_."

Keith grabbed Lance by the shoulder and pushed him down, and Lance laughed a little. "I wanna fuck you," Keith said as he loomed over Lance, sweat running down his jaw.

Lance raised his eyebrows and then snorted as Keith forced his legs apart. "I bet that's the best I'm gonna get out of you, isn't it," he asked rhetorically, as Keith lowered his mouth to Lance's half-hard cock. He groaned at the contact and thumped his head back into the bedding, then squirmed against Keith's mouth as it traveled lower, sucking one of Lance's balls into his mouth for a moment before going lower still. "Oh," Lance said, in sudden realization, as Lance put his mouth _there._

He definitely wasn't adverse to this. Lance hooked his legs over Keith's shoulders and put his hands on Keith's head. "Shouldn't you," he started to say, but was cut off by a gasp as Keith started fingering him open. "Shouldn't you be – _fuck_ , Keith, goddamit – shouldn't you be a bit more worn – ahhh – out?"

"In heat," Keith said by way of explanation, although Lance wasn't certain he bought it but was a little too preoccupied to protest.

By the time Keith crawled up his body, chin slick with fluid and lube, Lance was panting breathlessly. He almost didn't notice Keith's fingers on his chest until he tweaked a nipple, and Lance gasped and jerked his hips up. "Okay?" Keith said, and Lance smacked out at his arm weakly.

"C'mon man," he wheezed a little. "Gotta ask _nice."_

Keith leaned over Lance and planted both of his hands on the bedding, on either side of Lance's head. "Can I put my dick in?" he asked as bluntly as possible, and Lance laughed, looping one arm over Keith's shoulders.

"That wasn't very nice," Lance admonished. "But I'll take it."

 

* * *

 

When Shiro emerged from the shower, it was to see Lance with his ass in the air and Keith buried to the hilt in him. He stopped at the edge of the futon, eyebrows raised as high as they could go as he watched them move together, then sat down on the futon itself.

Keith was moving with a good rhythm, and Lance had his eyes closed, head back and arms looped over Keith's shoulders. He was groaning a soft litany of " _fuck, yeah, there, Keith_ "'s in a few different combinations, and the fact that his voice had dropped a bit shot directly through Shiro.

When they shifted again, Keith rising up higher on his knees, spreading his stance further, Shiro couldn't take it any more and slid in behind Keith, settling his cooler right hand on Keith's hip and feeling him still. They had been so intent on each other neither had noticed Shiro's presence. "Augh," Lance groaned, as Shiro wrapped his arms around Keith's abdomen. "Why'd you _stop_?"

Lance cracked open his eyes to see Shiro hooking his chin over Keith's shoulder, and Lance blinked once. "Oh," he said, breathing hard through an open mouth. "Hi, Shiro."

"You look like you're having fun," Shiro said, and kissed Keith's shoulder.

"I am," Lance said. "How 'bout you, Keith? You good?"

Keith had gone still in Shiro's arms, like Shiro's presence overrode his capacity for independent thought. "Yeah," he said after the silence went on just long enough to be uncomfortable. "I'm -- we're good."

Shiro laughed and nuzzled Keith's neck, but kept his eyes on Lance. "Do you mind if I join in?" he addressed the question directly to Lance. "Or do you just want me to watch?"

Lance flushed dark, as if the thought of Shiro just _viewing_ this had never even crossed his mind. "Uh," he said, and shifted uncomfortably against Keith."Join in _how?_ "

Keith tilted his head back, against Shiro's shoulder. "He wants to knot me while I'm inside you," he said, and closed his eyes.

"Oh," Lance's eyes had gotten wide. "Okay, I am down with that." He wiggled his hips and did something that made Keith groan, tilting forward over Lance.

Shiro laughed and flattened his hand on Keith's backk, letting the warmth of his left palm drift down the knobby bumps of Keith's spine. Keith was already breathing hard, and Shiro kissed his shoulder again, arranging himself behind Keith.

Lance let out a moan when Shiro pushed into Keith, still wet and relaxed and ready for him. Keith had his head tilted forward, his eyes obscured by his bangs, and Shiro could feel his every tremble as he pushed in, as deep as he could get. "Fuck, _fuck_ -" Lance gasped. "Fuck, Keith, you're so _hard_ -"

Keith let out a sound that was almost a sob, his body caught between Lance's and Shiro's. He bit the back of Keith's neck lightly, not hard enough to break the skin, and began to move.

 

* * *

 

Pidge held the sweet bread-like dessert in both hands, chewing, as she watched Hunk mess with the wires trailing out of the robot. "See?" she said, as if he wouldn't have believed her without proof. "Doesn't make any sense, does it?"

"It makes perfect sense," Hunk said, brushing some sweet bread crumbs from the open case. "If you stop thinking about Earth-logic and apply a different set of rules. Look at the way this switch is constructed-"

"I know how alien-engineered tech goes," Pidge snapped. "The robot's missing something that makes it run right, and I don't know what it is."

Hunk shrugged and put down the screwdriver. "I can't help with that," he said truthfully. "I don't know what's missing to try to reconstruct it. Princess, you have any idea?"

Allura had been seated at the mostly-cleared table they had used for dinner, watching something that was floating in the air, projected by the datapad. At the attention, and the directed question, she swiped her hand through the display to obscure it and shut it down in a hurry. "Hm?" she asked, having been clearly distracted.

"You know anything about robot repair?" Hunk asked.

"Not enough to be any use, I'm afraid," she said, and Pidge shrugged.

"Seems like Spover isn't gonna get off the ground right away," Hunk said. "Sorry Pidge, maybe this project should wait until we hit up the castle-ship, with its resources."

She let out a long groan. "You're right," she said finally. "It sucks, but you're right." Pidge took another bite of the sweet bread and looked down at it, then out the open door to the baths. "We gonna hit the baths, or are we waiting to make sure we can't hear any of the sex noises from the other room first?"

"Waiting," Allura said, looking down at her datapad. Pidge nodded her head as if Allura was looking up, and glanced over to Hunk. "Wanna mess with the Galra tech?"

"No," Hunk said.

"Ah, too bad." Pidge got up and dragged the big crate they'd brought back full of bits and pieces. "C'mon, maybe we'll find something _fun_."

"Maybe we'll also trip some kind of alert beacon and draw a huge Galra fleet here, let's not play with fire," Hunk said, as Pidge dug into the crate. "Pidge, you even listening to me? Hey, don't press those buttons-"

"Oops," Pidge said, and made eye contact with Hunk as she flipped a switch.

Allura continued to drink her hot beverage and look down at the datapad, ignoring the increasingly loud argument between Hunk and Pidge and reading the articles she'd found on the temple of Thales carefully. It was going to be a long night.

 


	50. Chapter 50

Despite how carefully he wiggled out from between them, Lance woke when Keith moved. He blinked his eyes sleepily at Keith, who had made it to the end of the futon and was sitting on his knees, considering whether or not he would make it to the bathroom. "Mm, Keith?" Lance murmured, rolling onto his back from his side and then stretching one arm out, above his head, arching his back to the futon.

Keith shook his head. "Go back to sleep," he said, although his flat tone sounded more like an order than a suggestion. Lance promptly ignored his words and sat up on the bedding, now stretching both arms over his head and cracking his neck. Shiro, surprisingly, did not stir; and Keith shot him a glance, waiting for him to wake as well.

Lance scooted to the edge of the bedding and stood up on shaky legs, before offering his hand to Keith. Keith stared at him, and Lance said, "c'mon, man, you got knotted _twice_ , I know you gotta be hurting."

Reluctantly, Keith gave Lance his hand and let him pull Keith to his feet.

He was _very_ sore, but he didn't want Lance – or worse, _Shiro_ _–_ to realize the extent of it, so Keith gritted his teeth and dealt with it. Lance shot him a few knowing looks from the refresher, but he ignored them and vigorously brushed his teeth and tried not to count the small red marks that peppered his collarbone and chest.

Shiro was still asleep when Lance took Keith by the hand and drew him quietly out of the room, to the baths.

Keith wasn't entirely sure what time it was. It was quiet outside, the planet they orbited taking up much of the sky. The lights appeared to be off in the other rooms. "Did you even look at a chrono?" Keith asked as Lance slipped casually into the water, settling on a bench and sighing.

"Does it matter that much?" Lance asked, eyebrow raised. "Get in, it'll make you feel better."

"I've been in the water before, I know how it feels." Keith sat very tenderly on the edge of the bath and put his feet in the water, then winced as he couldn't figure out how to get his weight arranged comfortably. The water _did_ feel good, the rest of him definitely did not. He sighed out a small noise, and then started as Lance rose up out of the water in front of him, arms crossed.

"I'm _fine_ ," Keith started to say, but then Lance stepped closer, staring at him, and Keith felt himself going red and he _hated_ it. "What?"

Lance put his hand on Keith's knee and pushed it gently. Keith managed not to yelp but spread his legs with only a small difficulty. "What are you doing?" he said, as Lance studied his nudity. He wasn't aroused at the moment; in fact for the first time in days he felt completely sated. "You're a pervert."

"I'm not the one who gets off on being called a slut," Lance said.

"Yeah, well," Keith crossed his arms and started to pull back as far as he could. "Why are you staring?"

"Because I can." Lance grinned at him, and very gently brushed his knuckles up Keith's flaccid cock. "I only get to see you when you're hard and dripping, this is different." A strange expression crossed Lance's face, and his eyes went up to Keith's. "... are you still in heat?"

Keith shrugged his shoulders and looked away. "Probably? I dunno, I just woke up, I haven't had time to get going yet...."

" _Keith._ " Lance touched him again, and this time it was on his face, fingers guiding his gaze back to Lance's.

Lance being tender with him was something he still did not comprehend. "I'm not," he said finally. "I woke up this morning and felt normal." He closed his eyes instead of looking away. "Well, really _sore_ , but normal."

"Oh _hell_ ," Lance said.

"I'm not pregnant," Keith said forcefully. "I think my heat is just naturally over. You're freaking out over nothing."

"We have to tell Shiro," Lance said. "If there's any chance at _all_ -" he started to climb out of the water, and this time Keith caught his arm.

"Lance, _no_ ," he said.

"You want to _keep_ this from him?"

"I'm not pregnant," Keith said again, firmly. "But .... we'll talk to him. After the temple quest, okay? I don't want him acting weird during any of this. I don't want _you_ acting weird during any of this."

Lance glared at Keith. "That's not fair to Shiro," he said.

"I don't care," Keith said, and looked away. "Why won't you trust that I know my own body?"

"You didn't even know you were an _omega_ until like, a month ago!" Lance tore his arm from Keith's hand, but let out an exaggerated sigh and sat on the edge of bath with him. "This isn't cool, Keith," he said finally.

"Just, until we get done with the temples, all right?" Keith said. "I promise I'll talk to him after. _We'll_ talk to him, I want you there too."

Lance flushed and looked down, then back at Keith, then shook his head once. "If you start exhibiting _any_ signs..." he warned.

"Even if I _were_ I wouldn't show any signs for weeks, jeez," Keith said. "Weren't you the one lecturing me on passing health?"

"We've _gotta_ get some condoms somewhere," Lance said with a groan. He ran a wet hand back through his hair and cracked a watery grin. "The last thing we need is pregnant paladins."

* * *

 

Shiro joined them a while later, sitting on the edge of the bath as Keith had before Lance finally encouraged him into the water. "Gotta say," Shiro said with a yawn. "It's good to see you two getting along."

Keith let Lance surface for air, and made every attempt to look innocent. "Right," he said. "Getting along."

"Fucking, don't try to _drown_ me-" Lance wheezed, making a grab for Keith's throat before Keith dunked him in the water again.

"I think I need coffee," Shiro said. "Keith, don't actually drown Lance."

"It's not _drowning_ ," Keith said, but released Lance, who broke the surface and gasped for air exaggeratedly. "I mean, what if the water temple has some kind of underwater challenge? I'm helping him train to hold his breath longer."

Shiro gave Keith the look he usually reserved for Lance, and Keith maintained his innocent expression. "I think Lance might be a bad influence on you," he said, and Lance coughed water and then splashed it violently toward Keith.

"See if _I_ try to suck your dick underwater again," he said, and folded his arms.

"Really?" Shiro said. "In the water that we _all_ use?"

"Keith got handsy first," Lance tattled, and Keith seethed a moment, before grabbing Lance by the back of the neck and attempting to dunk him again.

Shiro got up from the edge of the bath. "Coffee," he mumbled, and hoped that whatever the Eaphus equivalent was, was _strong_ , because he was gonna need it.

 


	51. Chapter 51

"I am," Allura said, her arms folded across her chest and a dangerous glint in her eyes, " _profoundly_ disappointed in all of you."

The waystation was little more than a shack carved into the black rock of the cliff along a jagged, winding path. It had a few benches hewn from the same rock as the cliff, and a small, salamander-like alien who sat inside, watching them with wide, golden eyes.

The morning had started off well, despite a few squabbles between Keith and Lance that were easily solved by making sure they walked on either side of Hunk. Hunk made a sad sound when they passed the skiff departure dock and instead left the bustling town on foot, on a well-worn trail that clearly had seen better days. After a few hours the trail suddenly took a sharp incline, curving up the side of a cliff, and that was the point that things predictably started to fall apart.

Hunk wasn't the only one who was having trouble with the sharp incline and thin atmosphere. Keith was wheezing almost as loudly as Hunk was, and while Lance would normally have take the golden opportunity to poke fun, if he tried to talk he would betray how hard he was panting too. The three of them had collapsed in a pile nominally on one of the benches, Hunk across most of it, Lance and Keith on the ground and leaning back against him.

"Pidge _cheated_ ," Lance finally said when he had enough oxygen in his lungs to speak again.

"I didn't _cheat_ ," Pidge said hotly. She was the only one who was talking and breathing normally, even Shiro was a bit winded – but that _might_ have been because he let Pidge ride on his back up the cliff. "I didn't ask for Shiro's help, it was offered."

"You _took_ it." Lance heaved.

"Well, maybe _I_ wanted a chance to ride Shiro too," Pidge snapped back. Shiro inhaled funny and then started to cough.

" _Enough_ ," Allura said. "I thought that the paladins of Voltron were in better condition than this. I'm not even breathing hard!"

Hunk raised his hand. "Can I just," he wheezed without sitting up.

"Yes, Hunk?"

"It's okay to leave me here to die," Hunk said.

Allura shook her head. "We are not even _halfway_ to the temple." This announcement was met with a chorus of groans, the loudest coming from Lance, who thumped his head off of Hunk's side. "And, no one is _dying_ , Hunk."

Shiro cleared his throat. "We'll rest for a little while longer," he said as authoritatively as he could manage. While his voice wasn't as strained as the others, there was still the hint of breathlessness to it. He did send a concerned glance to Allura. "The rest of the way isn't solely along this cliff, is it?"

"Levelsss off in two klicksss," the salamander-like alien said from behind them.

"Goodie," Lance said. "Only two klicks."

"You know," Pidge said. "The reason everyone's having so much trouble is as much to do with the foreign atmosphere as it is to do with the incline, right, Allura?"

"That is absolutely no excuse," Allura said. "As paladins you will be exposed to much harsher climates and conditions! This is almost child's play in comparison."

Keith inhaled and stood up as quickly as he could manage, which really wasn't all that quickly. "I'm ready," he said. "Let's keep going!"

Lance tilted his head forward. "I won't say anything if you push him off the cliff," he said, just low enough for Hunk to hear and wheeze a small chuckle.

 

* * *

 

True to the red salamander-alien's words, the path started to level off after a while. Pidge, who had been banished back to walking on foot, brought up the rear. "We are taking the skiff to the next temple," she said.

"Absolutely not," Allura said. "This is part of the experience."

"I'm pretty sure we outnumber her," Lance muttered.

Shiro stood at the crest of the path, ahead of them all. He was as exhausted and sweaty as the rest of them, but somehow had the energy reserves to not only keep going, but to jog _ahead._ He wasn't human, Lance had decided about an hour previously. Allura had the excuse of literally not being human, but Shiro just wasn't either.

"Hey, Lance," Shiro called as they straggled up behind them. "You oughta come see this."

Over the crest of the hill the path started to trend downward again, but the cliff itself loomed higher. However, cut out of the black stone in the distance was a huge statue of a six-armed alien leaning from the cliff-face. It held a large jug in two of its appendages, balanced on a shoulder and from that poured forth a large amount of water, cascading over the path and down the cliff-side.

"I'm willing to bet that the temple of Thales is the water guardian," Pidge said.

"Clearly you were trained by the world's greatest detective," Lance said, suddenly feeling the smallest bit queasy. "I don't see a temple though, just a statue?"

"That's because the statue is a marker that we are on the correct path," Allura said.

"Don't tell me," Hunk wheezed, "that's the _halfway_ point?" Keith patted Hunk's arm awkwardly, as Allura nodded her head.

"That's it exactly," she said. "We're halfway there."

" _Fuck_ ," Hunk said, and sat down.

 

* * *

 

Daylight was swiftly diminishing by the time they reached the temple itself. Similar to the statue they had passed under hours earlier it was carved from the black cliffs; the difference here being that there was a skiff landing pad and a dwindling crowd of aliens. The worst bit of the journey was behind them in the climb up the path, the long and winding trail had a gentle downward slope until it terminated at the temple.

There were several fountain statues of the same type of alien spread around its front entrance; all holding jugs that steaming hot water fell from. In some places the water ran off, down the side of the cliff in small, thin waterfalls; a few others the water just went straight down into the rock itself.

"Why is everyone leaving?" Keith asked, as they crossed the large plaza that sat before the temple itself.

"The temple closes at dusk," a pink alien said as it ambled past.

" _What_ ," Hunk said.

"Oh," Allura frowned. "Why would the temple itself close? That's not the way it used to be."

"A lot can change in a few years," Pidge reminded her, and she propped her hands on her hips and stared around the plaza.

"What are we gonna do _now_?" Lance complained, running a hand back through his hair. "We're not going back, are we?"

"We could always camp out," Shiro suggested mildly. "You know, use those supplies that we packed and everyone carried here."

Lance repeated what Shiro said under his breath with a higher, more deragatory tone, and Keith elbowed him. They had all been carrying small, lightweight backpacks that had supplies and very basic camping gear, although Lance really wasn't certain where the tents or sleeping packs were hiding out at. "We'll make camp away from the skiff bay," Allura said, gesturing in the direction of the large plaza.

They found a flat area away from the temple and the skiff bay. It was clear others had used it as a camping area previously, based on the detritus scattered around the area. The tents were easy to set up and secure, they were inflatable and self-cooling. Hunk immediately crawled in his. "I'm gonna nap," he announced. "Then I'll make dinner."

Lance and Keith exchanged a look. There were only three tents, and they weren't exactly large enough to cram three people into one comfortably. Before Lance could open his mouth to say he would share with Hunk, Shiro clapped his bare shoulder. "I'll share with Hunk," Shiro said mildly.

"He snores," Lance warned.

"So do you," Keith said, and Lance looked offended. "Lance can bunk with Hunk, they were already roommates at the Garrison. We can share, Shiro."

Shiro smiled wanly. "I don't think that's the best idea," he said ambivalently. "Besides, Lance needs his rest. Tomorrow's a big day."

 

* * *

 

They all sat around a small fire that Pidge had lit. The last skiff of the night had taken off an hour or so before, a bipedal green alien with several orange eyes running over to ensure that they didn't intend to return on the final skiff. "I don't know that it's actually closed," Pidge said. "I bet we could send Lance in right now, get that taken care of, and then move on in the morning."

"What are the trials like, Allura?" Shiro asked pleasantly.

"I have no idea," Allura said. "The trials are only for paladins. I've not been inside the temple itself, the priests forbid it."

Hunk held a bowl of blue noodles in his hand as he looked over at the looming ediface in the distance. "I'm sure the priests won't be a problem," he said. "If they're letting tourists in."

Allura nodded her head. She'd let her hair down from the tight bun she'd worn as they climbed the trail, and now the graceful white waves fell down her back and over her shoulders. "We'll find out in the morning, I suppose," she said.

Lance was not looking at the temple itself, staring down into the bowl he held in both hands with a furrowed brow and a puzzled expression. Keith was the first one to notice it and he pretended he hadn't, until finally he nudged Lance and asked, with exasperation, "what's wrong?"

Lance shook his head and lifted it, raising his eyes to Keith, the same puzzled expression still on his face. "You don't hear it, do you?"

"Hear what?" Keith asked, and he cocked his head like he was straining his ears to the night. It wasn't exactly quiet here, the wind and the water constantly moving, nevermind the chattering of the others and the crackle of the fire. Lance shook his head again and dropped his gaze back to the noodles in his bowl. "Nothing," he clearly lied.

"Dude, don't _lie,_ " Keith said, and shoved him with one hand. Lance wasn't braced for it and bounced into Hunk, who lifted his bowl in surprise.

"Hey," Hunk said.

"Sorry," Lance said. "It's _nothing_ ," he emphasized to Keith, and this caught everyone else's attention.

"What's nothing?" Pidge asked, and Lance let out an aggravated sight.

"He heard something and now he won't talk about it," Keith said, and Lance shot him a dirty look.

"Is it coming from the temple?" Allura asked, and Lance shook his head, and then looked to Allura.

"I don't know," he said finally. "I don't know where it's coming from, it's faint, and it's not always there, I'm probably imagining it, hearing things in the rushing water that aren't actually there-"

"What is it you're hearing?" Shiro asked. "It might be important, Lance."

Lance turned pink and looked into the fire. "It sounded like..." Lance hesitated. "It sounded like my mom."

There was a moment of silence, but no one laughed, which was his biggest worry. Allura frowned, though. "There aren't much by way of natural predators around here, so I don't know what it is Lance is hearing."

Keith, whom Lance fully expected to make fun of him, raised his hand. "Maybe we should keep watch," he said. "Just in case."

"That's not a bad idea," Shiro said.

"I'll take first watch," Lance said immediately, and Shiro shook his head.

"You won't take any watch, Lance, there are four of us and we can divide up the watch equally that way. Whoever has trials to do in the morning shouldn't have to worry about that, too."

"I'll take first watch," Keith said, before Hunk could. He looked over at Lance. "That way you won't be woken up when we switch shifts."

"You being considerate _really_ kinda creeps me out," Lance muttered, and Keith actually smiled at him, and really ... that wasn't as creepy as he thought, because Lance leaned a little into Keith's personal space and they bumped shoulders.

 

* * *

 

Keith sat alone at the small fire, his back to the tents and staring across the large, empty plaza toward the temple. True to Lance's word, he could hear Hunk snoring from here and wondered if Shiro was getting _any_ sleep at all. Every now and then he would strain his ears, trying to pick some other noise out of the constant water noises, and not having any success at all.

He heard a tent unzip and he looked over his shoulder to see Shiro emerge, looking worn out. "It's too early to swap shifts," he said as Shiro joined him at the fire. "Couldn't sleep?"

"No," Shiro said. He didn't sit right away, standing beside the rock that Keith had chosen as his perch, looking out toward the temple as well.

"You're worried about Lance," Keith guessed, and Shiro looked over at him and sent him a soft smile.

"Is it that obvious?" he said, and Keith made a small noise of disgust. "I'd be worried about you if it was your trial you were facing," Shiro offered, but Keith was already in a mild sulk. "We don't know what's in there, waiting for him."

"It can't be _too_ bad," Keith said. "If they have tourists running around."

Shiro nodded his head, mostly in agreement. He finally sat, next to Keith. "You shouldn't be so jealous," he said, and Keith looked away from him, cheeks colored angrily.

"I'm not jealous," he muttered.

"You are," Shiro said, and yawned. "And you're about to be even _more_ jealous as I proceed to crawl into your tent to try to catch an hour's sleep before I relieve you."

"Lance snores too," Keith said.

"Yeah, but I can tune him out." Shiro leaned back a little and touched Keith's side, and when Keith leaned against him he turned Keith's face to him to kiss him. "I can't make you not jealous," he said softly when they parted. "But I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"There's nothing to make up," Keith said with a sigh. "Go sleep while you can, I'll wake you for your shift."

"Don't try to stay up all night and be the only person on watch," Shiro warned him, as if he had read Keith's mind. Shiro stood up and walked over to the tent Keith was sharing with Lance and zipped it open. There was a long moment of hesitation, and then Shiro said, calmly, "Where's Lance?"


	52. Chapter 52

The summer sky was that perfect shade of blue, a color picked from a box of crayons and scribbled across the edge of the paper; bright and bold and nostalgic all at once. It was broken here and there by thick piles of cotton-white clouds that never seemed to scuttle across the sun, drifting lazily across the canvas spread out above. The smell of saltwater, of sunscreen and sweat, the distant cry of gulls circling overhead, the far-off echoes of laughter and chatter overwritten by the soft crest of waves; the familiarity made Lance choke up just a bit as he sat up on the board.

The shore was distant here; he could still see it, the familiar voices distorted and faded, out of reach. Lance leaned forward and started to paddle, but he didn't seem to be moving in the right direction; he didn't seem to be moving at all. The fear clutched at his gut as he felt the board rock under him; the still and bright summer day shifting from calming to quietly malevolent.

He leaned too far one direction, and slid off the board into the water, head ducking under the crest of a wave. Lance broke the surface, sputtering, and grabbed for his board, kicking his feet uselessly and trying to fight the swell of the current. He was still trying to get to land, land he couldn't see any longer. When the hand gripped him by the ankle and pulled, yanking him below the waves, away from the sun and blue sky and the white clouds, Lance didn't even have the strength left to struggle.

 

* * *

 

Lance came up gasping, flinging himself upright, expecting to encounter the tough fabric of the hab tents and instead finding nothing but deceptively cool air. He sat forward, hand on his chest, breathing hard, and taking a minute to center himself before he realized, belatedly, that he wasn't _in_ the tent.

Panic, and adrenaline scrambled him to his feet. They didn't have changes of clothing with them, he'd slept in his tunic; and Lance felt exposed and vulnerable now. He turned in a complete circle before realizing he had no wall near against which to place his back, and without even thinking about it the bayard that stayed with them materialized in his hand. The edge of it glowed a faint blue, but it did not transform into his usual rifle.

The blue of the bayard's edge cast a small, bright ring of light around him. Before there was a dim light drifting in from the right; a heavy, purple color that reminded him uncomfortably of ships run off Galran crystals. It was enough to put him on edge, and he gripped the bayard tight in his hand and tried to will the rifle to appear, but no weapon did so.

The room was large and empty. He could hear water running in the distance, cascading, splashing down into a pool somewhere out of sight. It was warm here, uncomfortably so, and at no other noises Lance called boldly, "hello?"

His voice echoed, but no response came. "Keith?" Lance tried, taking a few steps forward. "Shiro? Hunk, man, this isn't funny, I thought we were done with the whole, 'drag your friend's sleeping bag out of the tent' shit, that wasn't funny when we were twelve and it's definitely not funny when we're on an alien world and who knows _what_ is trying to kill us."

There was no response to anything he said, just the empty echoes back to him of his own voice, against walls too far for him to see clearly. Lance held the bayard over his head and wished for a moment for a brighter light source; or even to be wearing his armor with its own dim glow.

After another round of silence, Lance turned his head and tried to identify where the rushing water was coming from. Maybe there'd be better light there, maybe it would help him figure out where he was (in the temple, that annoying little voice that whispered in the back of his mind said, you're inside the _temple_ , they took you here, and left you here...), and how to get back to the others.

The room was so large and open, even with the dim light of the bayard Lance moved slowly in case something unexpected would loom out of the darkness, a column, or a pit, or another type of trap. As he got closer to the water sounds, he did manage to trip himself on uneven tiles, and he pitched forward, landing on his hands and knees, his bayard falling to the floor. Its glow did not go out, and as Lance groaned, sitting back on his haunches, something unexpected happened.

Where he had touched the shiny black tile that littered the floor of the room, soft blue light to match his bayard spiraled away. It faded out quickly, leaving the room lit very faintly by distant purple light, and immediately by the blue light of his bayard. Lance looked at his hands, and very carefully touched the floor again, with both palms.

He didn't removed his hands when the blue light started again, and the longer it seemed he held his hands to the floor, the brighter the light got, snaking and spiraling away across tiles that held no design, tracing its way over distant columns until, for a moment, the entire room was lit in the same shade of blue. Lance lifted his hands and looked around; he was definitely inside the temple. "How the hell did _this_ happen?" he grumbled, reaching over for his bayard.

The water sounds came from a fountain set square, centered in the far wall. There were some kind of barriers set up around it, undoubtedly by the aliens who organized the tour, but the blue lights skated past those barriers and up the spirals of the tentacle creature that featured in the center of the fountain. Water ran down its long tentacles; lit a now-fading blue by Lance's strange light.

"What _is_ that?" Lance said to himself, drawn toward the fountain. The luminescent swirling patterns settled on the column that supported the fountain itself, and without hesitation Lance climbed over the barrier and splashed into the shallow, warm water of the fountain. The blue swirls seemed to have some coherent form here, and almost looked like words in an alien script, and when Lance's fingers brushed over the blue writing on the center column there was a strange spark of familiarity there, something he hadn't had enough time to put together.

Then the blue, swirling script turned amber under his fingertips, and Lance said, "oh, fu-"

 

* * *

 

"He's probably just wandered off somewhere to take a dump," Pidge said with a yawn, sitting cross-legged on the ground and rubbing her eye under her glasses. "I mean, we don't exactly have a sign-out system for potty privileges."

Hunk was even less awake than Pidge was, and he could only yawn in agreement.

"He couldn't have gone far," Allura said. "We'll split up and cover the temple grounds; and-"

"Uh," Keith said. "I know where Lance is."

Allura looked over to Keith, who had his back to them and the fire. "That's fantastic, Keith, where did he go?"

Wordlessly, Keith pointed back toward the temple – and when the other paladins turned around to face it, the entire front edifice was glowing a soft, muted blue. "That's not normal, right?" Keith said. "Because I bet Lance had something to do with it."

"No bet," Shiro said, and looked over at Allura, whose face betrayed no emotion. "C'mon," he said. "We've got to go help Lance."

 


	53. Chapter 53

Lance stared at the cracked tile above his head. It was a familiar crack, he remembered it; the top bunk was a hazardous place for someone tall enough to hit their head off the ceiling when startled. He had his arms crossed and his brow furrowed as he regarded it, however, because as familiar as it was, seeing it again just didn't feel _right._

"C'mon, man," Hunk said, his hands on the edge of Lance's mattress. "We're gonna be late for class. You aren't seriously gonna lay there all day, are you?"

"I don't know," Lance said without lifting his head from the pillow. "That sounds like a challenge to me."

"You already won that title," Hunk said. Lance rolled his head and looked over at Hunk, wearing his Garrison uniform, and felt a weird tingle in his stomach. Instead of analyzing that, however, he pushed the feeling away and buried it. "Is it your heat? Did it come early?" Hunk leaned in close, as if their conversation in their locked dorm room could be heard and easily observed. "Is it those alphas, again?"

Lance sat up on an elbow and glared down at Hunk. "It's _not_ my heat," he said. "My heats are regular, thank you very much." He didn't address the thought of those ... of _them_ , and instead rolled onto his side. "We ... did we go out? Like, hit the town last night?"

Hunk stepped back from the bed, arms folded and a haughty look on his face. " _I_ made the mistake of letting you talk me into _trying_ ," he said. "You don't remember getting busted by the patrol coming in? Dude, we're on latrine duty for a _month._ " He frowned. "Maybe you hit your head harder than I thought."

Lance sat up and very narrowly avoided the low clearance. "What about Pidge?" he demanded, and Hunk blinked owlishly.

"What about Pidge?" Hunk repeated.

He gripped the edge of the mattress and then very firmly flung himself over the side, dropping to the floor beside Hunk. Hunk took a large step backward, his brow furrowed in concern. "We've gotta find Pidge," Lance said.

"Pidge will be in class," Hunk said patiently. "Where _we_ should be. We're already in enough trouble, Lance."

_Augh_. Whatever it was that was rattling around in his cloudy brain wasn't being jostled free by his cyclical pacing. Lance stopped suddenly. "The desert," he announced, and Hunk said, " _class_ , Lance. The desert isn't going anywhere." Lance half-turned to protest when he was met with Hunk shoving his uniform jacket at him. Grudgingly, Lance put it on.

 

* * *

 

Surprisingly, Lance and Hunk were not the last ones to class. The instructor was still missing, and, conspicuously, so was Pidge.

Lance stared at the empty seat on the other side of Hunk as the classroom hum of distracted young adults rose slightly in volume. Someone in the seats behind Lance, someone whose name he should know but the information was gone now, like it hadn't existed, they were talking to their teammates about the rumor that there had been a crash in the desert, that all the senior garrison officials were called off base, that _something_ was going on.

"Huh," Hunk said, his chin in his hand. "I wonder where Pidge is."

"We have to find her," Lance murmured.

"He's probably just running late," Hunk said, and sighed deeply. "I'm so hungry. I had to miss breakfast because you wouldn't freaking wake up, man."

Lance shook his head and stared down at the desk. "This isn't right," he said softly. "We're not supposed to _be_ here."

"Dude, maybe you should go to the nurse," Hunk suggested. "You fell off the speeder last night at a good clip and knocked your head around. I was gonna make you go last night but Iverson was too busy screaming at us."

As Hunk was speaking, the door to the auditorium slid aside and one of the Garrison officials walked in; not their teacher. All the cadets rose automatically at saluted, the room falling expectantly silent as the official’s eyes drifted over all the cadets, and then stopped on Lance and Hunk. "You two," he said, pointing to them. "Gunderson was on your team, correct?"

"Y-yes sir!" Hunk said, holding his salute.

"Both of you, come with me." The official pointed to both Lance and Hunk. They exchanged a quick glance, and obediently followed the official out into the hall, where they were met with two guards. Hunk folded in on himself a bit and tried to make himself smaller as they followed the official and were trailed by the guards.

They were led to an office on the far side of the Garrison; and the man siting at Iverson's desk was not Iverson. He did not wear the Garrison uniform. "Please, sit," he said, and gestured to two chairs arranged in front of the desk. Lance did not sit.

"What's going on?" he asked, and eyed the guards who had followed them into the office and now stood blocking the door. "Where's Pidge?"

"What do you know about the Keroberos mission?" the man in black asked, and Lance blanched and clapped a hand to the back of his neck on impulse – although he himself wasn't certain why he did so.

"Keroberos?" Hunk said. "Isn't that the mission that failed over a year ago? Why ask us, we're just cadets."

Lance curled his fingers into the back of the chair he was standing behind. He stared at the man in black, he was familiar; dark hair cut short along the top save for a fringe that fell into his eyes ... Lance stared at him, frowned, couldn't connect the dots. "What do you want with us?" Lance asked, and the man actually laughed.

"Your friend is in a lot of trouble," he said mildly. "And so, by extension, are you." The laughter didn't reach his abnormally-colored eyes.

"Man," Hunk said. "I always thought it was _Lance_ who was gonna get me expelled."

"You're not expelled," the man said. "You're under arrest. Although I can see how you might confuse the two...."

It was a split second decision; Lance wasn't even sure where he had time to come up with it, never mind execute it. He gripped the back of the chair he was leaning on firmly and hauled it up, clobbering one guard into the other so fast neither had a chance to do anything. Hunk's jaw dropped open as Lance grabbed his arm, prepared to yank him out of the office, into the hall, to flee, to do _something_ –

– but Hunk didn't move. "Man," he said, eyes wide. "What are you _doing?_ "

"Yes, Lance," the man in black said. "What are you doing, exactly?"

"This isn't _right_ ," Lance said. The first guard was out cold, but the second was working to shove the weight of his comrade off of him, to reach for his gun. "Hunk, we were supposed to be with Pidge last night; wherever she is we need to find her and help her-"

Hunk held up both of his hands. "Lance, buddy, you are off your _nut_ -"

" _No_ ," Lance said. He kicked the gun out of the reach of the guard who was still struggling to get his unconscious partner off him, and he pointed at the man in black. "Whatever you've done with Pidge, or with Shiro, or Keith, I'm going to _find_ them-" he said, and Hunk let out a little whimper as Lance scooped up the guard's weapon and, with one last look at Hunk, ran out into the hall.

 


	54. Chapter 54

Nothing about this made _any_ sense.

Lance crouched behind a speeder in the repair bay of the Garrison. There had been no alarms tripped by the strange man in black, or the two guards that Lance had barreled through. He'd clobbered one with a _chair_ and took the other's gun and yet no alarms were going off, there didn't seem to be any uptick in patrols, in fact he would be hard-pressed to tell that this day was any different than any other Tuesday on the base.

Except it was different. He wasn't supposed to be here. Neither was Hunk. By Tuesday they were all aboard the Castle of Lions on Arus, not still here on Earth. Lance put his hand flat on the speeder and tried to put his thoughts in order, so much of it was muddy swirls that he couldn't pull the entire picture together. All he knew for certain is that he wasn't supposed to be here any more; and that he had an ache in the back of his throat, the knowledge that he could ditch all of this, grab the unattended speeder, and head for the coast and his family.

But, Pidge was in trouble.

And if they hadn't been there for the stolen Galra ship's crash, to see Shiro being brought in by Garrison officials, then he was in trouble too. Lance touched the back of his neck again and swallowed. And Keith...? He would have been captured as well, unable to hold Shiro on his custom speeder and pilot it well enough to get away.

He didn't even know where to _start._

_You could always start in the brig._

Yeah, that made sense. Except it didn't, because he'd just made his way out of the labyrinthine corridors of the base; and while there was still no hint of an alarm, turning around and storming into the prison area was a guaranteed way to light the base up like Christmas. Besides, they wouldn't have stashed Shiro in the brig; too many people would see him. They would want to keep his arrival on the down low, like in the tent in the valley by the wreckage of the ship.

Lance smacked his hand against the speeder and stood up, setting his gun on the seat and unzipping the uniform jacket as he did so. He discarded the coat and got on the speeder, before staring down at its controls. The last time he had ridden one of these Hunk was clinging to him and yell-crying something about them possibly getting expelled, he didn't entirely remember the conversation, but felt that black ball in the pit of his stomach that Hunk had _stayed._ That was a betrayal he hadn't expected.

The man in black's scarred face and gold eyes popped into his head again, and Lance shuddered, before kick-starting the speeder and shooting out of the mechanical bay.

There were no mechanics to stop him.

 

* * *

 

The sun was high in the sky, intense and bright. Lance had stopped the speeder on a cliff opposite the Garrison, overlooking the emergency tents that had been constructed. There were several transports parked all around, and guards here. He stood up in the saddle of the speeder and shaded his eyes. The goggles protected some from the glare, but not enough — he wasn't as stupid as Keith, he wasn't going to go charging in to a fully-staffed base; even with some kind of distraction there were just too many people down there for him to be effective at anything; and that was with the assumption Shiro was still down there.

Lance kicked the speeder back to life, and peeled out. If he had to do this solo, it was either go big, or go home.

 

* * *

 

He wasn't entirely sure that he knew where he was going; it had been dark and between being shot at and yelled at and the entire world coming down around his ears he had been just a _tiny_ bit distracted. He ate through at least half the speeder's fuel reserves before he hit the plains, and not long after that he found the small, piece of shit shack that Keith had apparently been calling home.

Time seemed to be passing weirdly; and he noticed. The sun was still high in the sky although it felt like he had been riding for hours, there was sand in his hair and grime all over his face; he pulled the goggles down around his neck and washed his face in the water collection barrel, before opening the door.

It wasn't the same.

Lance hesitated in the open door. It was Keith's shack, it had to be; he remembered the outside of it but the inside was worse, a table with its cement blocks kicked out and debris scattered across the floor, the chart that took up one entire wall torn down, strings connecting nothing fluttering slightly with the change in air pressure from Lance standing in the door.

He nudged detritus with one boot as he walked the length of the room once. There was something like panic now, blossoming in his chest; when he kicked a chunk of cement away he found a cigarette butt and that feeling crystallized.

Garrison soldiers had been here.

_Blue._

If they were here, could they have found Blue, too? Hunk had known, had put it all together right there in front of them but there were people so much smarter than either of them already graduated, working for the top brass, did they _know?_ Had someone already found her?

Lance slammed out the door to his speeder; somehow in the handful of minutes he'd been inside hours had passed, the sun was already sinking past the horizon. He hopped astride his stolen speeder and stared at the blood-colored western sky, before he pulled his goggles down and started the speeder again.

 

* * *

 

It was another quarter of his fuel reserve to get to where the Blue Lion had been hidden, thousands of years ago. He wasn't alone; Lance cut the power to the speeder and coasted to a stop around a corner; the light from the camp was bright, and unhidden.

He could feel her, under the ground. It was a soft pulse, a recognition of something he had been taking for granted for weeks now. "Sorry, girl," Lance said softly; he left the gun on the speeder but kept his goggles on. "I didn't mean for this to happen, but we'll figure this out."

The tents here were not as large as the crash site for the stolen Galran ship; but there was at least two transports and several guards he could see. There was not going to be any way for him to get to the cave's entrance, they had it completely under guard.

_You don't need the cave._

He didn't need the cave. Lance crept up on the tents; the guards assigned were cadets doing their rotation; they weren't expecting anything to happen, and as such their circuit around the small cluster of tents was erratic, and they would occasionally stop and chat with each other. Wholly unprofessional. Lance smiled to himself, they were gonna get the dressing-down of a lifetime when this was all through.

He slid around the first open tent when there was a gap in the patrols, and he ducked through the flap — and came face to face with Pidge; who was sitting on a cot with her hands cuffed behind her back and a gag stuffed in her mouth. Pidge's eyes went wide with surprise, and Lance almost laughed in his relief. " _Pidge_ ," he said, and pulled the gag out of her mouth. "Are you okay? They haven't hurt you, right?"

"Lance!?" Pidge was completely nonplussed to see him. "What the hell are you _doing_ here?"

"What, can't a guy rescue his teammate from certain doom without getting the third degree? Turn around," he said, and she scooted on the cot just a little so he could work on jimmying the cuffs open. "I can't believe they use regular handcuffs," he said. "The budget cuts here are ridiculous."

"Lance, for real, _what_ are you doing here?" Pidge said as the handcuffs fell off her wrists. She rubbed her clearly sore wrists and stared at him. "How did you know where to find me?"

"Is it just you?" Lance asked. "Is Shiro here? Or Keith?"

She stared at him blankly. "Keith?" Then she shook her head. "How did you even know about _Shiro?_ "

"Keith," Lance said. "Mullet, charming personality, looks like he swallowed a box of tacks?" _Also, I'm pretty sure I'm in love with him._ Lance covered his mouth with two fingers and looked concern, uncertain if that last one had escaped out loud. Pidge didn't seem to hear, though, as she ran over to the table in the small tent, where her backpack was sitting.

"Do you know why they brought us here?" she said. "Something to do with something called Voltron, I don't know what it is but I've been picking up all sorts of signals lately—"

"There's no time for that," Lance said. "We have to find Shiro and Keith, and get back and grab Hunk-"

"They brought Hunk, too," she said, and Lance froze.

"What?"

"He rode out here with some creepy guy, not Garrison crew." She slung her backpack on. "It all has to do with Voltron, somehow?"

Lance shook his head, then switched over to a nod. "It does," he said, sucking air in through his teeth. "It's hard to explain, we need to find the others. Do you know where they've got Shiro?"

"Not only that, but I bet I can get him out," Pidge had pulled out her phone; a few quick taps on the surface changed it from a fairly normal looking device into something more akin to a data pad.

"Pidge, you're awesome," Lance said.

She looked surprised. "Thanks, Lance," she said. She went to push aside the flap of the tent and froze, then took a large step back as two armed guards stepped into the tent ... followed by the dark-haired man in the black suit.

He looked over at Lance and seemed to ignore Pidge completely. "Well, then," he said with a slow drawl and a smirk. "What took you so long, cadet? We can't get this party started without you."

 


	55. Chapter 55

"Great rescue attempt, Lance," Pidge said sarcastically. She sat cross-legged on the ground, backpack confiscated and wrists cuffed together in front of her. "Just great. They even took my _gear_ this time."

Lance stared down at his cuffed wrists blankly. He wasn't listening to Pidge at all, trying to wrap his head around the way that man _looked_ at him, trying to place him in his memories and coming up short. It was frustrating; he was sore and hungry and tired; he had no idea what time it was and had been going none-stop for far too long.

Shiro and Keith and Hunk were all here, somewhere in this smaller campsite, and he had no clue where to even begin. His hands were cuffed, there was an armed guard stationed outside the tent presumably listening to every word that passed between he and Pidge, and Blue was somewhere beneath his feet. Lance closed his eyes and focused, tried to find her with his mind, channel her like Coran had encouraged in their training exercises, _let your lion be your eyes._

"Earth to Spaceman Lance," Pidge said, and kicked him.

" _Ow_ ," Lance complained, and opened his eyes. "What, _what?_ " he said, scooting across the floor to avoid an additional kick. "What _is_ it?"

"So your original plan went up in smoke," she said, and stared at him. "What are you even doing _out_ here? How did you know about all this, they grabbed us last _night."_ Her expression was thoughtful, brow creased. "How do you even know about Shiro?"

"I just _do_ , okay?" Lance said, all too aware of their potential audience.

"Yeah, that's bullshit," Pidge said.

"I don't care what you think," Lance said, then frowned and said, "well i do _care_ , but not about this, because you don't know what's going on here and you'll just call me crazy if I try to explain it, so it's easier if you just believe everything I say and don't question it."

Pidge was entirely unimpressed by this. "How about I don't, and then I don't have to worry about being killed?" she suggested.

"Look, you want to get to Shiro to ask him about —" Lance leaned forward and dropped his voice, as if that was enough to deter eavesdroppers. "Your family, right?"

Pidge _stared_ at him. "I, I don't know what you're talking about," she said. "I just want to know what happened with the Keroberos mission, I—"

The tent flap was shoved aside with some prejudice, and Lance thought momentarily that it was hilarious to attempt to slam open a tent flap like it was a door. "You two!" the guard barked. "Come with me!"

Lance surged to his feet, and Pidge staggered a bit but followed suit. He had squared his stance, he didn't have much of a plan formulated but unless the guard was built like Shiro or Hunk he might be able to get his shoulder or elbow into a solar plexus and make a break for it — but then Lance straightened, because the guard was built like Hunk, and that would _not_ end well.

Then he shook his head and smiled and said, "man, what the _fuck_ are you doing?"

"If you don't haul your ass someone's gonna figure out that I'm not supposed to be over here," Hunk said, and tugged one-handed on the guard's uniform jacket that didn't quite fit him right. "I mean _now,_ Lance!"

"Hunk, you are a sight for sore eyes," Pidge said.

"So how far ahead have you thought about this plan?" Lance said, and held up his wrists. "Like, having a key thought ahead, or found the others thought ahead?"

Hunk shook his head. "I know where the other prisoners are locked up," he said. "But even with the key it's too suspicious to drop your cuffs right away; reveille isn't that far off."

"Let's go get Shiro," Pidge said. "And get the hell out of dodge before they wake up and use us for whatever weird ceremony they have planned."

"Not without Blue," Lance said, and followed Pidge out of the tent.

"Blue?" Hunk said, and followed them. "Lance, who the hell is _Blue?_ "

 

* * *

 

Somehow, no one stopped them. Hunk unlocked Lance's restraints on the other side of the base camp, and while he was unlocking Pidge's Lance very tactically set about removing the guard in front of the other tent. "Tactically" involved Lance attempting to punch the man in the face and hurting his hand, fortunately Hunk realized that Lance had jumped the gun and was two steps behind him and laid the guard out with a solid right cross. Lance shook his injured hand hand and inhaled through his teeth. "Are you even _trying?_ " Pidge asked from around Hunk, and Lance shot her a nasty look.

This tent was set up just like Pidge's, a basic cot and little else. As Lance pushed aside the tent flap the cot's occupant scrambled mostly upright, hands cuffed behind his back just like Pidge's had been. "Man, are _you_ a sight for sore eyes," Lance said as Keith narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously, bandanna being used as an improvised gag. "And I can't even believe I said that, don't hold it against me."

"That's Keith?" Hunk asked.

"Yeah, watch your fingers, he bites," Lance said as he crossed the tent quickly. Keith was watching him with narrowed eyes but submitted to Lance enough that so that Lance could use Hunk's key to unlock the cuffs. Once freed of them Keith yanked his bandanna out of his mouth and coughed, then gave Lance a mildly freaked out look.

"Who the fuck are _you?_ "

Without missing a beat, Lance said, "I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you."

"Oh my _god_ ," Pidge said, as Keith frowned and processed this. "Lance, flirt later. Let's fucking grab Shiro and blow this popsicle stand."

That got Keith's attention. "You know where Shiro is?"

"Yeah, and we're all getting out of here together," Lance said. He couldn't deny the tightness in his lungs at the way Keith looked at him without comprehension or recognition, but he would have to unpack that later. "All five of us."

Keith stood up from his cot and stretched his arms out, trying to restore circulation. "What weapons do we have?"

"I have a gun," Hunk said.

"And we've got my brain," Lance tapped the side of his head.

"We're doomed," Pidge added.

"I can see that," Keith said.

"Thank you both for your vote of confidence," Lance said. He looked over to Hunk, who shrugged a little. "Come on, we don't have any time to lose."

 

* * *

 

Where Shiro was being held was different than the scattering of tents; this was a much more well-guarded area. There were three patrols ambling around its entrance, and unlike the junior officers and cadets wandering around base camp, these were pros. "We only have one gun," Hunk said. "I can't shoot them fast enough — I don't really want to shoot _any_ of them..."

"No shooting the guards," Lance said, and slid down behind the rock into a seated position.

"I still have my dagger," Keith said. "I'll slit their throats."

" _No_ ," Lance said. "No killing the Garrison guards, Keith, they're not Galra."

Keith made a strange face at that, and Pidge and Hunk exchanged looks. Lance ignored them all. "A distraction," Lance said, and stared off in the distance.

"Um," Hunk said suddenly. "Would a distraction involve the guards noticing us?"

Lance looked up sharply, as two whistles echoed shrilly across the camp. "Are you fucking _serious?_ "

Keith, who was still crouched, looked over at Lance. "Have you ever even _run_ recon?" he asked, and Lance shoved his arm as he scrambled to his feet.

"New plan," he yelled as the guard patrol who had spotted them aimed their rifles at him. "Charge the front door!"

"Are you fucking _insane?_ " Hunk shrieked.

Lance held his hand out and his bayard appeared, forming itself into the familiar form of his rifle. Lance ignored the bevy of surprised noises from behind him and braced the plasma rifle against his hip. He steadied himself and fired the weapon at the guards; or more accurately in the guard's direction. He didn't take careful aim and sprayed some cover fire down before he turned his head to grin a little wildly at Hunk. "To answer your question," he said conversationally, as if a weapon hadn't appeared out of midair in his hands, "in a word? Probably."

Then he leaped down off the rock he was perched on and bolted for the entrance to the area Shiro was being held in. "Where the hell did you dig up this guy?" Keith said, and then braced his hands on the rock and leaped over it, following Lance a few steps behind. "I think I like him!"

 


	56. Chapter 56

They found Shiro much the same way they had found him originally, strapped down to a gurney and sedated. Lance stood by the door, bayard-rifle in both hands as Keith practically flew to Shiro's side. The first time, he had been upset to see his hero treated like this, but more concerned with other things. This time, his fingers curled against the casing on the muzzle of his weapon and he just felt _sick._

Pidge helped Keith undo the straps that held Shiro to the gurney. "How long until we can wake him?" Lance asked as Keith attempted to pull Shiro off the bed himself and almost went down under Shiro's weight.

"However long it takes for the sedative to wear off," Keith snapped, and hey, Lance could be full of stupid questions if he wanted to annoy Keith further. He watched Keith struggle for a moment, then shifted his rifle to his left hand and ducked under Shiro's other side to help Keith.

"Guys," Hunk said, from the doorway. "I think the entire camp has scrambled, we might be a _little_ bit outnumbered."

"So what's the exit strategy?" Keith asked, and Lance realized that he was asking _him._

Somehow, _'I hadn't thought that far ahead'_ didn't seem like an appropriate response.

Lance swallowed, hesitated too long and Keith let out a loud groan and shot him a glare. "Are you _kidding?_ " he said in disbelief, and Lance snapped right back at him.

"Give me a minute, I'm working on it!"

"I don't think we have a minute," Hunk said.

Lance cocked his head, eyes closed and brow furrowed. They had Shiro, they were all together — it was impossible to get through to the cave, they'd have to go back through this camp, that was a non-starter. Shiro's weight against his side, limp though he was, his arm was still warm and heavy across Lance's shoulders and it was _distracting him._

"Lance!" Pidge said. "Any time, flyboy!"

That pulse again, under his feet. Blue in her cavern somewhere beneath them, particle shield keeping her safe from discovery. Lance opened his eyes and grinned, then looked over at Keith who was giving him a confused look. "I have an idea," he said, and shifted Shiro's weight against him. "But we gotta get out of here, first."

 

* * *

 

The sun was just starting to come up. Lance looked up at the morning sky, pink and gold and expansive over their heads and felt overwhelmed. They were on _Earth_ , he didn't have to do this. He didn't.

Shiro's arm over his shoulders told him otherwise. Lance bit his lip and helped Keith pull Shiro up over the crest of a rocky incline. "Great plan," Keith heaved. "They're gonna notice us any second with the sun up, genius."

"Yeah, okay, so it's not my best work," Lance snapped back. "I didn't see you coming up with anything better."

"Peace, guys," Hunk said. "Pidge and I will sneak back into the camp, grab a speeder, and we'll get out of here."

"No," Lance said. "We need what's in the cave." He stared down the incline, past the camp. Keith looked over at Lance with dawning comprehension, as if puzzle pieces had just slotted into place for him.

"This is where the energy is coming from," Keith said.

Lance nodded his head and ran a hand back through his grimy hair. "I need to get to Blue," he said. "We can't leave her here, I don't want that slimy asshole in the black suit to even _think_ about touching her."

"Ah, and here I bathe regularly," a familiar and unwelcome voice said. Lance lifted his head and glared, as halfway down the hill stood the dark-haired man in black.

"Are you fucking _kidding_ me?" Lance said, and stood up, putting himself between Shiro's unconscious form and their antagonist. "How do you always keep turning up?"

"I'm like an old bad penny," the man said. He appeared to be alone, there were no guards behind him.

"Well, I think you'll find you're a little outnumbered, mister Bad Penny," Hunk said, standing up beside Lance.

"Am I?" the man seemed unimpressed. "I see four kids and a cripple, that doesn't seem like much to me." He shrugged his shoulders loosely, hands in the pockets of his black slacks. "There's nothing but klicks of desert in all directions," he said, when he caught Lance looking around. "I mean, made a run for it if you want, but there's nowhere to go. The Garrison'll pick you up in less than a day, and I guarantee Iverson will be much less forgiving than I."

Lance inhaled deeply, and closed his eyes.

_Focus._

_Connect._

_See through your lion's eyes._

"Iverson can go to hell," Pidge shouted. "Why is the Garrison covering up what really happened at Keroberos!?"

The man in black laughed tunelessly. "I think that much should be obvious," he said.

"Obvious _how_?"

The rumbling started far off, like a transport idling. Lance opened his eyes and looked over at the man in the black, who had heard the rumbling too and had glanced back down at the camp with a frown. "Sorry buddy," Lance said, pointing his bayard at the man. "Want to say it's been a pleasure but, really, you can fuck right off. We've got a ride to catch."

Keith had Shiro's arm over his shoulder again, as prepared as he could be to try to bolt while carrying that amount of dead weight. "What the hell _is_ that?"

The explosion was larger than Lance had anticipated, being on the outside. Rock, dust and sand blew into the morning sky, obscuring the camp and sending it into a fully blown panic. He could barely even hear Hunk screaming over the commotion, and Lance looked up as the large shadow passed over them and grinned huge.

"Long time no see, buddy," he said happily, as the blue lion landed softly behind them.

"What the _fuck_ ," Pidge said softly, and Hunk just gaped.

"So, look," Lance said, turning back to the man in black and freezing in place.

He was holding a gun, now, and he didn't look happy in the slightest. "That isn't possible," he said, suit coat whipping back with the wind that the blue lion had kicked up. "That isn't _possible_ , how did you activate the lion from here?"

"Get Shiro on board," Lance yelled at Keith, over the rumble of the lion's engines.

"Don't you fucking _move_ ," the man yelled, and they all ducked as he shot at them.

"Go, _go_ ," Lance shoved Hunk in the shoulder, as Hunk ducked under Shiro's other side to help Keith move. He turned as the next shot zinged closer, and as he moved his bayard formed back into his rifle. "Stop right there," he yelled, and to his credit, the man stopped.

"Why do you have a bayard," his voice was conversational now, gun held at his hip, still pointed directly at Lance. "Those are reserved for the lion's rider."

"Man, are you _dense,"_ Lance said. He chanced a glance over his shoulder, to see if the others were on board. "You got all of us together like this, and you're still stupid. Like, really, _really_ stupid."

"And now you're stalling," the man said.

"Of _course_ I'm stalling," Lance retorted sarcastically. "Now, if you don't want a big burned-out hole in the center of your chest — thank you for getting so close to be a _perfect_ target, by the way — I would suggest you toss your gun on the ground and maybe take a few very large steps back so we can get on our way."

"Lance, come _on_ ," he heard Pidge yell faintly.

"That's my cue," he said, and tipped his head to the side. "By the way, to answer your question, I'm the blue lion's paladin. _That's_ why I have a bayard."

Lance lifted his rifle's muzzle just a bit, and that's when the man in black brought up his gun.

"Even the paladins aren't immortal," he said, and fired.


	57. Chapter 57

Lance hit the water hard, a loud splash that echoed through the cavernous hall. The water was shallow, barely came up to his knee when standing but it was enough that his head went under for a split second and his shoulders and back slammed into the bottom of the fountain. Miracle of miracles he didn't hit his head, but he was dazed enough that he didn't have a reaction when a strong hand grabbed him by his tunic and yanked him upright.

"Lance!" Keith said, and Lance looked up at Keith, bewildered. "Lance, are you all right?" Keith was down on one knee in the water, and he still had a good grip on Lance's tunic. "What the hell did you _do_?"

"Keith?" Lance croaked, and then put a hand on his own chest, fingers splayed out. He grabbed Keith's hand by the wrist and stared up at him, in that cream-colored tunic and his hair wild, and then yanked him down and toward himself. Keith's eyes went wide, surprised, as he landed against Lance, and he tried to push away and off him.

"What the _fuck_ ," Keith grunted. "What is your _damage,_ man, do you even know what the hell is going _on-_ "

Lance said, "shut up, I'm gonna kiss you," and surprisingly, Keith _did,_ a quick angry blush gracing his features. He didn't pull away, though, even after the second, and third kisses, and when Lance put his hand back in Keith's hair he only shifted so he wasn't in danger of toppling them both back into the water.

When they finally parted, panting and out of breath, Lance looked down between them. "No holes, right?" he said. "I'm not bleeding out?"

"Why would you-?" Keith breathed, and put his hand flat on Lance's chest; the water soaking his tunic and making it cling to his thin frame. Then he seemed to remember something, and he shoved Lance with that same hand, flailing up to his knees. "Where were you?" he said, as Lance looked around and scratched his head, then spotted the column in the center of the fountain.

"That thing," he said, jabbing a finger at the ornately carved column. "Is a fucking _memory core._ " He frowned. "But I wasn't in a memory, so... I don't know. Where's Allura, she knows more about this than anyone."

"She didn't enter the temple," Keith said, still kneeling in the water. "There's — I don't know what you _did,_ but you need to come deal with this." Keith got to his feet in the water and turned, looking in the direction of the entrance to the temple's hall. Lance waited a moment to see if he would offer Lance a hand to his feet but Keith ignored him, and Lance huffed and got to his feet himself, only a little wobbly.

"I didn't _do_ anything but get sucked into a memory core," Lance said, and bunched the bottom of his tunic and wrung it out as he waded across the fountain and stepped out. The water had been warm, and the air was humid but it was also with a touch of a chill. Keith however, had walked the breadth of the fountain, _toward_ the memory core. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?" Lance said.

Keith put his hand on the column with only the barest hesitation. The nearly-invisible writing lit slowly around his hand, the same faint purple that they had seen on the ship, but in a different configuration. "It was blue for me," Lance said when Keith lifted his hand. "Well, it was glowing blue then I touched it and it turned yellow, I don't have any clue what _any_ of this means."

"You never have a clue, period," Keith murmured, but he was staring at the column, then looking down at his hand. "You said it didn't take you into a memory, this time?"

Lance shook his head. "Nope. Not really at all."

"Hm," Keith said. Then he looked up, and narrowed his eyes at Lance. "So if you were inside the memory core," he said, then trailed off and shook his head. "Come on," he said. "We don't have the time to be messing around with this."

Lance stared at him as he waded through the knee-high water and sloshed his way out of the fountain. "I still don't know what's going on," he said as Keith stormed past with a purpose, then gave a little surprised yelp as Keith grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him after.

 

* * *

 

"Oh," Lance said, standing on the wide, shallow staircase that led into the temple carved out of the rock.

It wasn't quite daylight yet, but the sky was bright with the planet above. The skiffs had resumed their service, however, the crowd of alien tourists here to see the temple were all staying put on the landing dock, because in the large open area between the skiff and the temple sat the Blue Lion.

The others were arranged in front of it, as Allura had one hand on the sentient lion. "Blue!" Lance exclaimed in surprise, and the others all turned to see him being dragged rather unceremoniously out of the temple by Keith.

"Lance!" Allura said, sounding relieved, while Hunk and Pidge both tried to speak over each other and Shiro simply gave him a concerned once-over. "Why did you call the Blue lion?"

"I didn't," Lance protested, although he wasn't entirely sure that was the truth.

"Did you pass the trial?" Hunk said, at the same time Pidge asked, "what _was_ the trial?" Lance shrugged helplessly as Allura gave him a scrutinizing look.

"Our cover's blown now," Keith said, standing beside Lance with his arms crossed. "Can we even _do_ any more of these now, Princess? The Galra probably are on their way here right this minute."

"They don't like this planet's atmosphere," Lance said smartly.

"They have drone soldiers," Keith retorted, and Lance shut up. "Never mind the fact that they could trace the blue lion's flight path and it would lead them _directly_ to the castle-ship."

"Coran will have already moved the castle," Allura said. She turned from the blue lion and glanced at Shiro, who had folded his arms and was frowning thoughtfully. "This accelerates things, I fear," she said.

"Lance will have to take the blue lion back to the castle-ship," Shiro said. "It's too dangerous for it to remain here."

"What? I'm not leaving you all alone here," Lance said.

"It's more of a danger to keep flying it around," Shiro said. "Even if by some miracle it didn't get picked up on the scanners, word is gonna get back to the Galra that the blue lion is here, so the others can't be far behind."

Lance scowled, but Shiro's face didn't soften. "Is that an _order_?" Lance muttered sourly.

Allura said, "I don't know if that's the best plan either."

"Why don't we have Lance drop us at all the temples?" Pidge suggested. "He can keep moving and watch out for trouble, and pick us up when we're through."

"Still ups the odds that we'll be noticed by the Galra patrols," Keith said. "It's probably safest for him just to get back to the ship and wait there."

"I don't care about being _safe_ ," Lance said. "I'm not gonna leave you guys unprotected." He crossed his arms and glared stubbornly at Keith, who ignored him, looking to Allura.

"It's not your safety, it's the lion's," Pidge said. "We can't let any of them fall into Galran hands, right Allura?"

Allura nodded. "They're all right, and there's no good option here."

"Uh," Hunk said. "Remember that thing about Galran patrols?" He pointed his finger at the sky, at a trio of small, dark-colored craft flying in formation. "I'm _pretty_ sure that's one."

 


	58. Chapter 58

"Would you like to sit on my lap, Princess?" Lance asked, eyebrow cocked as they all squeezed into the cockpit of the Blue Lion. Keith glared daggers at the back of Lance's head, but it was Shiro's hand that landed on Lance's head, turning his gaze forcefully back toward the forward viewscreen.

"Pay attention to flying," Shiro said in that deadly calm voice that made Keith snap to attention without it even being directed at him.

"I feel like I'm safer back here anyway," Allura said, one hand gripping a long, low bar that ran along the upper inside of the cockpit.

They had abandoned their camp. The ships had blown by overhead, still in the upper atmosphere of the moon but they were too far out to determine who they belonged to. The skin around Shiro's eyes had tightened at their flight pattern and it was Lance who had said, in a more commanding voice than Keith expected from him, "everyone in my lion, _now._ "

Lance flew low, worryingly so, the lion's legs kept close to its body as the dark terrain sped past at an alarming rate. "At least we would have been going downhill," Pidge said, one hand on the belt of Keith's tunic, the other hanging on to the back of Shiro's chiton.

"I don't like the idea of us splitting up," Hunk said.

"Well, it's either that or we forget this whole thing," Lance said. He glanced over at Allura for a second. "Should we just forget it, Princess? I mean, it seemed kind of ..." The expression that crossed his face was puzzled, and Keith banged his hand on the back of the pilot's chair at the same time Pidge yelled, "TREES!"

Without even looking, Lance yanked on the controls, then whipped his head around in time to see that yes, he had managed to avoid the scraggly black branches but behind them loomed a larger tree, massive in comparison to the others, its branches just beginning to spread above the canopy of the rest of the forest. The only thing that saved Keith from going tail over teakettle was his firm grip on the back of Lance's chair; Pidge bounced back into Hunk and Hunk hit the back of the cockpit as Lance yanked the Blue Lion into an almost vertical climb.

"That's the temple of Anaximenes," Allura said — and there was something akin to reverence in her voice, despite the fact that she was now hanging on to the low bar with both hands and had her feet braced to keep from being too badly impacted by the g-forces.

"The _tree_?" Lance said. "The entire fucking _tree?_ "

"Not the entire tree," Allura said. "Look to its boughs."

As the Blue Lion flew up and around the tree, dodging through branches larger and thicker than the lion itself they saw the Temple of Anaximenes unfold around them. Lance pulled the lion out of its climb and leveled it off, looping back around in a slower, steady curve so that they had a better chance to pick themselves up from the floor and observe it.

The face of the temple was not dissimilar to the Water Guardian's temple, it appeared to be carved out of the living tree, its face in the thick trunk. The tree itself was a very dark green, with lighter green highlights running along its bark; the leaves were a rich violet. The limbs had been woven together thousands of years ago to create a courtyard of sorts, and had grown into one massive, solid platform.

The landing platform clearly usually accommodated a skiff, as Blue landed gently on the pad they all could observe that the temple was nearly devoid of alien presence. "Well, that's not alarming at all," Lance said as the lion settled down to its haunches. "It's morning now, where is everyone?"

A few leaves large enough for Keith to sit on blustered around the courtyard with the Blue Lion's landing. "It's possible that no one visits this temple any longer," Allura said, a frown on her face. "The climb up was most arduous."

" _Climb?"_ Hunk squeaked. "We were gonna _climb?"_

"Looks like this is my stop," Pidge said after a moment, and pushed her glasses up her face. She was still holding tight to Keith's tunic with her other hand, and when he looked down at her she let it go quickly and turned pink.

Lance pushed both controls all the way forward, essentially parking the lion. "We're not leaving you here _alone_ ," he said, scandalized.

Pidge glared at Lance. "There are three other temples you've got to fly to," she said. "I can handle myself, I'm a paladin just like you are."

"I didn't mean-" Lance backpedaled, when Allura put her hand on Pidge's shoulder.

"Lance is right," she said.

"I am?" Lance said, astonished.

"He _is?_ " Keith said despite himself. Lance fixed his glare on Keith for a split-second, and Shiro held up his hand.

"Stop," he said. "Allura, Pidge is right, we can't all hang around here if you really want us to do this."

Allura nodded her head. "I completely agree," she said. "It is vital that you get your totems; but something here is gravely wrong. I will accompany Pidge, and Lance, you'll take everyone to the next temple."

"Um," Lance said. "Not to throw a wrench in plans or anything, but — I have no idea where the temples _are._ "

Allura patted the back of Lance's seat. "Blue knows," she said. "Trust her."

 

* * *

 

The leaves blown violently around the platform by Blue's departure were larger than Pidge herself. It was already windy on the platform as it was, as high in the air as they were. "What do you think happened here?" Pidge asked, picking up one of the large leaves and holding it in front of her. The dead leaves were deep crimson and were pretty durable, all things considered. She released the leaf and watched the wind catch it and blow it farther along the platform.

Allura shook her head. She was busy plaiting her long, loose hair into a thick braid. She tied it off and flicked it over her shoulder, so it lay between her shoulderblades. "I cannot say for certain," she said with a puzzled frown. "Clearly they had brought people here over the years based on the landing pad; but as to why they stopped?" They both looked down the platform toward the entrance to the temple. "We must be cautious."

Pidge nodded and then hesitated. She cocked her head a moment, then looked around the platform, turning a full circle. Allura watched her silently.

"Do you hear that?" Pidge asked, her brow furrowed. Allura shook her head wordlessly, a smile tugging at her mouth despite herself. "It sounds like ... singing."

She closed her eyes and tilted her head again, and then, without opening them, started walking toward the temple, almost as if being compelled. Allura hesitated a moment and looked up through the branches of the great tree, where she could see the reflected sunlight making Eaphus bright across the sky. Then she hurried after Pidge, who had already made it to the temple stairs.

 

* * *

 

The Temple of Empedocles sat freestanding in the midst of a desert valley; black cliffs surrounding it. "You can't make me get out of the lion," Hunk insisted. "I'm not going out there alone, it's creepy as hell and what if the Galra come-?"

"We'll be back before you know it," Keith said, awkwardly trying to extract his arm from Hunk's vise-like grip.

"Didn't Allura say something about traps at Empedocles?" Lance reminisced.

" _Not_ helping," Keith said through gritted teeth.

"Hunk, man, you get to be Indiana Jones," Lance said. "There wasn't anything cool like that in _my_ temple."

"Great, then you can go in there," Hunk said. "I'll babysit Blue, we'll get along just fine, isn't that right, Blue?"

"Hunk," Shiro said.

"Hang on," Lance said. "I know how to fix this."

Hunk let out a pathetic wail when the floor of the cockpit opened up and he disappeared out into the desert. Keith blinked down as the nearly-invisible trap door sealed shut. "Huh," he said.

"Was that really necessary?" Shiro asked, and Lance shrugged, smacking the communications button because Hunk was lying flat on his back in the sand.

"Just use your comm when you get out of the memory core," Lance broadcast out of the lion. "I'll come pick you up."

Hunk lifted a particular finger, and Keith whistled appreciatively. "Man, you pissed him off."

Lance shrugged. "He'll live."

 

* * *

 

The Temple of Heraclitus brought them back around toward the volcano. Lance kept the lion low, as now there was evidence of skiff's passage. "Fire, that'll be me," Keith said, as Lance dropped the lion to the ground. The area was similar to the first temple, its front carved from the wall of rock. The difference being, in the distance instead of water cascading down the rock face it was the red glow of fresh lava.

Shiro caught Keith's shoulder before he could exit the lion. "Wait," he said, and pointed forward.

Parked near the entrance of the temple was one of the sleek black patrol craft they had seen cutting the sky above. It was smaller than Keith expected based on its profile; a single-pilot craft with the wings tipped in red. "Is it Galran?" Lance asked.

"Yes," Keith said, a split-second before Shiro did.

Keith ignored the weird look Shiro gave him, as Lance sat back and crossed his arms. "If he's here, where are his buddies?"

"Gone ahead to the Guardian of the Sky's temple," Shiro said. "If I had to guess."

"Why leave the other two alone?" Keith said. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, it does," Lance said. "If they weren't certain where the temples were. The other two didn't have evidence of recent visits, this one and Thales both seemed like touristy spots. Non-locals wouldn't even know where to begin to find the other two temples."

"Look for the giant tree and the building all alone in the desert," Keith snorted, but Lance didn't respond to that.

"Well, that doesn't make this any less my stop," Keith said. "All I gotta do is slip in, get my totem, and get back out? I can do that in my sleep." That said, he leaned forward, one hand on Lance's seat. "Speaking of which, what was _your_ totem?"

Lance looked doggedly ahead. "I'll show you mine when you show me yours," he said.

"You didn't _get_ one!"

"It's too late now, isn't it?" Lance said angrily. "Go get yours, then."

"Lance, you need to go back," Shiro said. "I'll go with Keith as a second set of eyes, you get yours and meet us back here, with three of us we can deal with two of their squadron pilots at the final temple."

Lance shook his head. "And who'll watch Blue while I dick around in another memory core? It isn't worth it, I'm fine without it. We don't even know what these totems are _for._ " Lance kept his eyes on the viewscreen. "First time she mentioned totems, anyway," he muttered.

"We'll all go back together," Keith said. He looked over at Shiro. "You sure about coming with me? I'll be fine alone."

Shiro said, calmly, "there's a Galra in that temple. You need me to watch your six, Keith."

Keith nodded, then put his hand on Lance's head and pushed it forward. "Don't stay here and wait for us," he instructed, curling his fingers in Lance's hair so it scuffed a bit. "We'll call you. Keep moving. Don't be you and do something stupid."

" _Hey_ ," Lance said indignantly, putting his hand up on top of his head to push Keith's hand away, but he was too slow. Shiro leaned over his seat and Lance looked at him in surprise when he caught his fingers under Lance's chin and tilted his head just right for a kiss.

"Oh," Lance said faintly, when they parted, his cheeks flushed slightly. He didn't touch his mouth until he saw Shiro and Keith making their way with purpose across the flat path that led toward the Temple of Heraclitus. They moved to merge with several large groups of aliens, and once they were successfully integrated, Lance pushed the Blue Lion to flight again; and with only a little bit of hesitation, turned it toward the final temple. He had to see if the other patrols were waiting for them, like Shiro anticipated.

Lance didn't see the figure standing on one of the rock outcroppings, dressed in the same dark colors as the landscape and holding a pair of binoculars, tracking the Blue Lion across the sky.

 


	59. Chapter 59

The temple of the Guardian of the Sky was gone.

Well, it was either gone, or completely invisible, Lance thought as the Blue Lion made a low pass over the point in the terrain that was indicated on the HUD. He wouldn't be surprised if it _was_ invisible, all things considered; but the sweep of the landscape, amber grass growing up over black jagged rock, and what _could_ be ruins told him that it had been destroyed, long, long ago. Lance wasn't about to get out of the lion to investigate this; but the other Galra fighters did not seem to be present here.

"Man," Lance said, and tilted his head back, to look above; at the sky obscured by cliffs or branches or anything; he let out a low groan and then tilted forward, both hands on the controls. "I have a _bad_ feeling about this," he muttered. Blue rumbled in agreement.

 

* * *

 

Keith felt like they stuck out like sore thumbs in the mix of aliens entering the temple. He looked around again, trying not to fix his attention on the sleek fighter craft parked outside the temple despite the fact that many of the creatures would gesture at it and mutter and fuss in their own languages. There was a large, green alien to his left; it was bipedal and moved slowly and stank in a way that offended his still-delicate nose. Keith angrily swiped the back of his his hand under his nose and shivered a little; his heat was definitely over so he had no idea why the scent bothered him so much.

Shiro's hand on his arm made him start. "Calm down," Shiro murmured, his voice comforting.

"I _am_ calm," he said defensively, feeling a prickling sensation crawl up his neck. He was, he _was._

The interior of this temple, like the water temple, was large and mostly empty; there were some carvings and statues here and there that clusters of aliens would crowd around to observe, but nothing clearly apparent as to what the trial would be or where it would be at. "Think it's another memory core?" Keith asked, and Shiro made a noise of agreement. It made sense, a memory core could be concealed in a statue, or hidden even in a pillar. He remembered the trunk of the fountain, the script-like runes lit up in a soft glowing blue as he entered the hall, looking for Lance. "It could be anywhere."

"It's going to cause quite a ruckus if you lay hands on something and it starts glowing," Shiro said with a frown.

"No kidding," Keith said. There were several furry aliens gathered around one of the statues; it looked not unlike a dragon; several heads extending from a strong, winged trunk. It was missing at least two heads, and the others clearly had been damaged over time. Keith locked eyes with one of the statue's remaining heads, and stopped dead in his tracks. Shiro nearly walked into him.

"Keith!" Shiro said, and put both of his hands on Keith's shoulders, intending to steer him forward but stopping when he realized how fixated Keith seemed to be on the statue's form.

It took a moment for Keith to register Shiro's voice, or his hands on Keith's shoulders — he blinked himself out of his reverie and jerked a little. "Is that it?" Shiro asked quietly, tilting his head in toward Keith's.

"I — I don't know," Keith said, and felt that same crawling sensation on his neck. The smaller, furry aliens were moving on; and Keith could see that the solid trunk of the stature tapered into a long tail, that wound around a short pillar that served as its base. "I think it is."

"All right then," Shiro said. He didn't remove his hands from Keith's shoulders, a touch that he found calming. If Lance was able to do this he wouldn't have any trouble with it.

They approached the statue — the remaining heads were stretched above like an umbrella, and Shiro reached his hand out and trailed his fingers along the dark stone that the statue was made of, causing some of it to flake away. "Doesn't seem very sturdy," Shiro said with a frown.

Keith wasn't paying attention. Now closer to it he could see the now-familiar script half-hidden by the dragon's tail. "This is definitely it," he breathed, fingers touching the script beyond the tail itself. It lit slowly, the lines under his fingers faintly purple; then transitioning to red before the red light flashed around the circumference of the pillar. Keith wasn't paying attention to Shiro, or looking around himself to see if he'd been noticed, watching instead the way the light pulsed and glowed.

The loud crack of stone, however, made him look up.

Shiro had him by the arm before he could even focus, yanking him back and away from the pillar as the neck of one of the dragon's heads cracked right through, dropping the heavy head to the temple's floor; right where Keith had been standing a moment before. Keith slammed back into Shiro's chest with a gasp. "Are you all right?" Shiro said, voice strangled; but Keith didn't hear him, _couldn't_ hear him, his attention still focused on the glowing lines of the memory core as if in a trance. "Keith!"

Keith lunged out of his arms but the grip in Shiro's Galra-made hand was stronger, and when Keith's palm made contact with the memory core, the color of the light changed again.

 

* * *

 

Hunk hauled himself over the last of the shattered, downed columns. There had been next to nothing by way of traps, although with the ruin that the temple was in they may have been disabled by time and decay. He'd stopped a few times; the entrance had led into a great, long corridor that made him wonder if he was about to be chased by a giant, rolling boulder of death (tm) — but along the walls of the corridor were etched reliefs and one, which was very clearly the Yellow Lion had caught his eye.

The Yellow Lion's eye and head were damaged, the relief old and worn from centuries of exposure. But this damage was deliberate, chunks of sand-worn stone gouged from the wall. Hunk ran his hand over the damage with a frown; then found a larger swatch of damage below the lion, where all that remained of the relief were feet and legs. The original yellow paladin, wiped from memory.

There were other bits of damage to the walls of the temple of Empedocles; most deliberate, some the product of time and ruin. Hunk hurried past most, wanting desperately to be done with this place. He wasn't _scared_ of being alone in a ruined temple on an alien planet with who-knew-what kind of fauna watching and waiting for an opportunity to make a tasty snack out of a rare delicacy such as himself. It was just prudent to be done with this quickly. The quicker he was done, and he had his totem, the quicker they could _all_ get back to the Castle of Lions and away from whatever Galra force had realized they were planetside.

The main room of the temple was dark and musty; Hunk had to use his bayard as a light source. It functioned poorly, but he wasn't exactly in his paladin armor, so he had to make due. He moved carefully through the room; several of the interior pillars had partially collapsed and loomed up out of the darkness. "Okay, trial," Hunk said, his voice echoing faintly in the darkness. "I can do this."

At his words, something lit the darkness. It glowed faintly gold, like the light around the edge of his bayard. Hunk turned toward the source of the light with relief. "Oh good," he said, recognizing the tilted script. "It's a memory core. Just what I needed to see."

As he spoke again, something moved in front of the light coming from the memory core, and blocked it from Hunk's line of sight.

  



	60. Chapter 60

When Pidge hovered her hand over the soft writing, it lit up in a faint green light, skating over the curve of the wall and twisting away, much like the branches and roots of the massive tree that housed the temple of Anaximenes. "It lights up for me," Pidge said, delighted despite herself, watching as the color faded to white before extinguishing completely. "I wonder why that is, how can it possibly be coded for me when it was created thousands of years before I was even born?"

Allura had her hand on the wall itself, tracing her fingers over old runes. "This is different from how it used to be," she said. "The memory cores are new — well, new _er_ , they may have been here for those thousands of years. So long as they were installed after I was last here." She looked back along the roof of the temple, which had been long ago reclaimed by the tree, branches crossing over and above their heads. "The other paladins came here many times," she said. "I only accompanied father once." Pidge watched Allura close her eyes for a moment, reliving something only she could see; a fragment of a memory that made her face soften.

When she looked over at Pidge again, that expression was gone. "It recognizes you because it recognizes that you are a paladin," she said. "If I had to wager, I bet that the cores are somehow attuned to their respective Lions. It has nothing to do with your physical being, and everything to do with who _you_ are."

Pidge shook her head and blew out a breath, almost laughing. "Magic is just science that hasn't been explained yet," she said. She nodded at Allura, and then put both of her hands on the memory core, a column that was extended from the wall itself. All of the writing lit green at once, the entire wall pulsed with it, and when the light faded Allura was left alone in the chamber. She took a deep breath, and looked at the pulsing runes, touching the memory core where Pidge had been mere moments before. The color of the light flared briefly, white — then resumed pulsing in green.

She could hear the wind whispering through the leaves, whistling as it echoed down the corridor from the entranceway. Allura tilted her head, brow furrowed, and then closed her eyes as she heard the snap of a twig. She inhaled, and smoothed her hands over her skirt before she turned to face the figure in black that now stood in the corridor, pistol pointed directly at her. "Leave now," Allura said in a level tone, "and you will leave unharmed."

 

* * *

 

The Blue Lion crouched comfortably in the underbrush. Lance sat in the cockpit, watching the wilderness around him. Here was forest, jungle, life — the trees swayed in a breeze he couldn't feel, as Blue sat in low power mode, all but invisible to the closest scanners. "How was I supposed to know that I would get a totem if I passed the trial?" he muttered to himself, elbow propped on a dormant control, his chin resting on his fist.

The two other Galran ships had all but disappeared. He hadn't picked up any residual traces on Blue's scanners; and aside from the profile they were able to scan at the Fire Temple he had no idea what he was looking for, anyway. There wasn't a lot of high-atmosphere enable craft scuttling around the surface of the moon anyway, most seemed to be concentrated right around that huge town where they had landed, hell — how many days ago was that, now?

Lance shift uncomfortably in the pilot's chair and tried not to think about what had occurred after they'd arrived. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and felt the half-healed wound, raised and rough, scarring over. Then, idly, he ran his thumb down over the other bite mark, a little more raw but not scarring cleanly. Lance smiled without realizing it, and then leaned back in his pilot's chair, stretching his arms over his head. "Man, I'm _bored_ ," he said. "Maybe we'll do another loop, eh, Blue? Let's go check on Pidge and the Princess."

Abruptly Blue moved of her own volition, the head of the lion raising and looking in another direction. The movement jostled Lance in his seat, and he flailed his arms until he was seated upright again. "What was _that?_ " he said defensively, and then looked at his sensors. Blue had oriented herself in the direction of the abandoned temple of Empedocles. "So you're saying Hunk needs help, huh?" he said, hands settling on the controls. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

 

* * *

 

Keith had nightmares that started like this; long stretches of dark corridor lit by faint violet, the stink of too many in close quarters, of fur and sweat and bad hygiene, the far-off clamor of voices raised in argument, of weapons clashing, of _conflict._ He stood transfixed, staring down the corridor, caught up in a memory that had become a nightmare and unable to move. Was this his trial, then? If so, he had already failed it.

He looked down at his hands and was surprised they were steady and not shaking. He was in his paladin armor; this wasn't a memory, then — he curled his hands into fists and focused on his composure.

When the hand caught his wrist he jerked away reflexively, half-turned and bayard in hand before he even recognized what was happening. Shiro was standing there, also in his paladin armor — his expression for Keith concerned, skin around his eyes tight. "Shiro," Keith said, and dropped the hand with his bayard in it. He stared at Shiro without comprehension, what was he _doing_ here? Maybe he too, was part of the trial? "What are you doing here?"

"Where are we?" Shiro asked, looking around. "This looks like a Galra prison ship." That would explain his expression; he wasn't concerned for Keith, he was worried about their location. Keith pulled his hand away and switched his bayard to his dominant hand.

"I don't know," he said. The lie came quick and easy, so much that he almost believed it himself.

Shiro's hand on his arm, again, although this time Keith did not jerk away. "I don't know what it is about memory cores and Galra ships, but it's getting old," Shiro said, and when Keith's head snapped around to stare at him, eyes wide and horrified, he seemed to ignore the expression on Keith's face, indicating with his head the direction to go. "Come on, if this is laid out like the other ones, I know how to get out of here." There was a long moment where Keith did nothing, where he stood there in that corridor with Shiro and stared at him, and Shiro's expression changed, grew more concerned. "Keith?"

This was really Shiro in here with him. Keith looked down the corridor, which would take him in the opposite direction of the launch bay. "This isn't a trial," he said suddenly, realizing. "When you and Lance were in the memory core before, it was actually a _memory_ , wasn't it?"

"Yes, but this isn't my memory," Shiro said. "I mean, this is definitely a Galra prison ship, but I don't recognize..." Shiro's words trailed off; and Keith looked away and wouldn't meet his eyes. "Keith," Shiro said his name again slowly, and the amount of questions that single syllable held hung heavy in the air. "Is this _your_ memory?"

He was saved, perhaps ironically, by the clatter of heavy boots echoing down the hall. Shiro's head snapped up quickly, his right hand releasing Keith's arm and without hesitation putting himself between Keith and the end of the corridor.

"We'll talk about this later," Shiro said sharply, focused on the end of the hallway and not Keith behind him. "Right now we've just got to get out of here, we'll figure out the rest later."

"I'm sorry, Shiro," Keith said softly as he took off his helmet. "We're not. Please..." he closed his eyes despite himself, not strong enough to bear whatever expression Shiro would be wearing when he saw. "Please don't hate me."

  



	61. Chapter 61

Shiro sat with his shoulders pressed back to the wall, staring blankly across the cell. His helmet sat on the floor beside him, aside from that there was nothing at all else in the holding cell. Just slick walls that met a solid roof well above his head, and the good old fashioned bars that crossed the far side. No fancy plasma or translucent energy fields here; just solid metal bars far enough apart for him to get an arm and a shoulder through.

Keith stood on the other side of the bars and watched him silently. His shoulders were bunched and his arms folded and his ears — god, Shiro couldn't even look at him properly, his large purple _ears_ were back. Purple ears because Keith was _purple_

_Galra._

The sound of keys in the lock drew his attention for a moment, and he watched Keith — was he Keith, now? Shiro wasn't even sure any more — as he stepped into the holding cell and waved off the guard with one hand. Shiro got to his feet slowly and kept his back to the wall, watching as Keith was distracted, his ear turned to the guard's location, before he looked back at Shiro.

They stood in silence for too long. It wasn't going to be Shiro who broke it.

Finally, Keith took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said. "You were never meant to find out like this." It was still Keith's voice. Shiro felt the flame of anger in his chest, he wasn't meant to find _out?_ "It must be because we're inside my memory, but I can't make them go away," Keith was still talking, almost rambling desperately, waiting for Shiro to pass some pronouncement, respond, do _anything_ other than stand there silently and watch him. He touched the tip of one ear absently, never quite bringing his eyes to rest on Shiro's face, keeping them downturned, low. Ashamed.

Which meant he didn't have time to react as Shiro crossed the cell in two quick strides and caught him by the throat. Keith's eyes - gold, almost glowing, the same sort of eyes Shiro had seen in his nightmares - gone wide with surprise as he slammed Keith back into the bulkhead wall, arm over his his throat, his own Galran arm beginning to glow purple with heat. _Enemy. Enemy eyes, enemy coloring-_

Keith didn't struggle against his hold, and Shiro breathed raggedly, felt this tight knot of pain and rage and fear settle in his chest as he held Keith against the wall — and it was Keith, it _was_ he could recognize the scent of him this close. It was different, laced through with adrenaline and more bitter, but it was Keith, the same Keith he'd claimed, he'd bonded. _His mate._

"Did you ever," Shiro said, his voice cold and level, "lie to me? Lie to _us?_ "

Keith shook his head as well he could, his voice ragged. "No, _no —_ Shiro I'd never, I _didn't_ tell you about who I am, but I didn't lie either, I promise I didn't-"

"Have you _betrayed_ us?" Shiro said, and his voice broke just a little on that word. "How long have you been with them, Keith? How _long?_ "

"I don't-" Keith's voice choked a little and he squirmed for the first time, Shiro's arm pressed tight over his windpipe. "I didn't, I don't belong _here_ , I'm not one of them-!"

"You sure as hell look like it to me!" Shiro looked away for a second, toward the bars of the prison cell, expecting any moment for an armed guard to come running and rescue poor Keith from his grip. When there was no obvious sound of guards coming, he looked back at Keith; whose face was still familiar, even under the purple fur and golden eyes. "How do I know I can trust you," Shiro said finally, helplessly.

Keith let out a broken noise and squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm the red paladin, Shiro," he said, finally. "Do you really think that Red would have let me anywhere near her if she thought I was going to betray you?"

"You could have _tricked_ her, overridden the lion's command somehow — she was in a _Galra ship,_ how do I know that they didn't just give her to you?" He knew, he _knew_ that what Keith was saying made sense but that didn't change the hurt, the _anger._ "How am I supposed to trust _anything_ you say?"

Keith's ears were so far back that he could imagine for a moment he couldn't see their profile in his dark hair. Small slivers of gold peeked out from under his eyelids, but Keith did not bring his yellow eyes up to Shiro's face, did not view the devastation caused by his next statement. "Because you love me," Keith said softly. "And you know that I love you."

Shiro slammed his right hand into the wall and Keith did flinch, but then he released his hold on Keith's neck and stormed across the cell. He stared at the opposite wall in anger and tried to find that calm he knew he had, somewhere inside. "That's dirty pool," Shiro said finally.

"It's true," Keith said softly. There was a soft clunk as his back hit the wall again and that made Shiro look back at him, watching silently as Keith supported himself against the opposite wall, as if bearing the brunt of Shiro's emotion had taken everything out of him. "I'm sorry," Keith said again, fingers curled against the wall, head turned away.

Shiro inhaled deeply and looked down at his right hand; with the arm deactivated he could no longer see the prosthetic underneath his paladin armor. He cold feel it, though; that cold, dead weight against him; the very minimal amount of feedback it got compared to his left hand — the utter agony as it was attached to him devoid of anesthetic, wired in directly to his nerves. That wasn't Keith's fault, none of it was ... but he was Galra, and that was hard-wired to be an enemy. _His_ enemy.

With an insane amount of effort, Shiro relaxed his shoulders and turned. Keith was still standing against the wall, one shoulder leaned into it, arms curled protectively over his chest, and trembling. _If he was really your enemy, he has you at his mercy. You're the one being held captive here, not him._

"You're right," he said finally, dragging the words out. "The Red Lion never would have chosen you if you'd meant us ill."

Keith lifted his head and looked over at Shiro, hardly daring to hope. He was struck again by the gold eyes and it made him shiver, but then Keith looked away just as quickly. "Do you hate me?" he asked quietly, his ears peeking up over his hair hopefully.

"I hate the Galra," Shiro said, without hesitation.

There was no 'but' tacked on to the end of that sentence.

 


	62. Chapter 62

Hunk sat with his back firmly against a fallen pillar, his bayard transformed into a blaster cannon and laid heavy over his lap. "Nope," he said out loud, although his voice was swallowed by the immense darkness. "Nope, _nope."_ He'd been dragged to way too many horror movies by Lance on weekend pass to even _begin_ with this.  "Look," he called out into the darkness, hoping on the off-chance that whatever monstrosity lurked beyond his perception that it spoke a common tongue, "I just wanna get over there to the memory core, all right? I don't wanna disturb anything, I'm not here to take your stuff, I just wanna go about this stupid trial and go home."

There was no response. Hunk peeked over the pillar; the wan light that filtered from the entrance hallway was not enough to see by, but his eyes were slowly adjusting. The memory core was farther back, the lettering still a warm gold, glowing but not casting enough light to see with. Whatever it was that had crossed between the glowing letters and Hunk's line of sight did not move through it again, and as he peered through the darkness he didn't _hear_ anything. The air in the temple was heavy and still.

Then, from behind him, the sound of something moving. He turned quickly as the figure cut across the light coming from the entranceway; they didn't seem to be coming for him, though — they were large and bipedal and just as Hunk thought they were going to leave the temple the figure slammed one appendage into the wall and oh, he _heard_ that as they shouted a single word in a foreign tongue he didn't recognize.

Hunk hurried up and over the pillar, putting it between him and the enemy, dragging the blaster cannon with him. The figure moved quickly and threw something; he couldn't tell what until they shouted again and there was a brilliant explosion of light. Hunk squawked and covered his eyes with his hand too late, dazzled.

They used the fact that he was temporarily blinded against him, and the next thing he knew Hunk was on his back on the temple floor. He flailed out with the cannon, unwilling to actually fire it but using it at a blunt object, a battering ram, and felt it impact something soft and squishy. There was a muffled grunt and a yelp, and he rolled, blinking stars from his eyes and trying to scramble away.

Whatever it was that was thrown into the air illuminated the temple. He could see clearly now the extent of the ruins, and the memory core half-ripped from the wall. The letters still glowed warm, but there was damage there, like something with large claws had dragged it half from the wall and scarred it. All of this was observed and filed away because right now Hunk was staring at the person crouched on the fallen pillar. They were dressed all in black, a form-fitting pilot jumpsuit that showed off a clearly mammalian female form. Hunk stared as she straightened; helmet-covered head cocked down and looking at him.

"Uh," Hunk said, both hands still on his blaster cannon. "Sorry I hit you with the cannon, but — can you understand me?"

She moved slowly down the pillar, not dismounting from it. "I don't want any trouble," Hunk added, turning slowly to keep her in his line of sight with his weapon. "I'm just here for the trial."

"Hey!"

Lance's voice came out of _nowhere._ Hunk physically jerked and she didn't even turn toward the interloper, instead leaping straight for Hunk. He tried to bring his weapon to bear but she was faster than that and she took him down, back slamming into the debris-ridden floor. She turned a perfect flip and ran toward the memory core as Hunk wheezed, the wind knocked clearly out of him.

"Hey, you!" Lance yelled, stumbling a bit over the pillar as he hopped it, his bayard-rifle in one hand. He nearly tripped over Hunk, still lying on his back on the floor. "Hunk!"

"Lance, man," Hunk said as Lance grabbed his tunic with one hand, trying to help Hunk roll to his feet.

"Who the hell is _that?_ " Lance asked, already tracking the female as she made it to the memory core. "Lady!" he yelled, leaving Hunk to haul himself to his feet. "Who the hell are y-"

He barely managed to duck the plasma bolt shot from the pistol she carried at her hip. Hunk ducked reflexively although the shot had gone wide, well above his head. "What the hell," Lance yelped, as the female pilot slammed one hand against the memory core with a triumphant noise.

Nothing happened.

She stood there for a moment, clearly puzzled — then she was moving again, headed directly for Lance. Lance, who had been running _toward_ her, skidded to a halt and tried to aim before she clotheslined him.

He was not successful.

Lance hit the ground with a loud grunt, and dropped his rifle. The bayard skittered away, and she went for the larger weapon. However, when she touched the bayard it reverted to its natural form — and she jerked her hand away like it was scalded. "Stay put," Hunk said, and as she moved in her crouch, startled, Hunk gestured with his blaster cannon. "I will shoot you with this thing," he threatened, as she stood.

She said something again in a language that didn't sound like anything familiar. She made a noise of abject frustration, then gestured at the memory core. "Are you paladins?" she said, clearly.

"Yeah," Hunk said, as Lance sat up groaning. "We're paladins. Who are _you_?"

This time, she moved slowly, one hand held out, palm up. Then she unhooked her helmet and removed it, letting it dangle in one hand as she shook her hair out. It was a deep amber color, tied in a tight braid that was pinned up against her head; and it was the same color as the familiar markings under her eyes. "I am Ilianya of Altea," she said, and gestured toward the memory core. "And I was chosen to become the Yellow Paladin."

 

* * *

 

Shiro hadn't said anything for a very long time. He was standing against the bars of the holding cell, one shoulder leaned into them, and was staring out at the hallway. Keith had discovered his legs were no longer up to the task of holding him and he'd slid into a seated position against the far wall. He was drained, emotionally exhausted and he had really no idea where to go from here, or what to _do._ Shiro wouldn't look at him and that alone hurt.

_Not that he didn't deserve it._ Keith put his hand on his neck; but he was wearing his paladin armor for some reason, and the thick jumpsuit covered up what his palm was searching for. "I was born on this ship," Keith said finally, just for something to fill the wretched silence.

Shiro shifted his weight but didn't look at him. Keith tilted his head back against the wall. "My mother was from Earth. I don't know what happened to her." This was something he'd practiced in his head so many times; there was never going to be a good time to share any of this information. "I'm not ... Shiro, I'm not one of them. I escaped, I didn't want to _be_ here..."

"The guard is coming back." Shiro said this levelly, casually, as if Keith hadn't spoken at all.

He stood slowly. It took a few deep breaths to connect to his center again, to draw his shoulders back, to mask his weakness. By the time the old Galran soldier who ran the brig came to unlock the door Keith knew he didn't look anywhere near as scared or vulnerable as he felt.

"The prisoner will be accompanying me," he said. The guard shrugged his shoulders and did not close the cell, holding the door open for Keith to exit. He hesitated outside the cell, and as he turned the guard had entered the cell with a pair of restraint cuffs. Before he could open his mouth to say that it wouldn't be necessary, the guard had clapped them on Shiro. Shiro did not put up a fight. He did look up and meet Keith's eye, and Keith wasn't certain what he saw there.

"I'm sorry," Keith said softly as Shiro stepped outside the cell, wrists bound together in front of him.

"Do you need backup?" the guard said with a snort, closing the cell's door.

"I can handle him," Keith said, and indicated with his head which direction they were meant to go. Without a word, Shiro started walking in that direction and Keith followed.

"Can you?" Shiro asked as they walked, his jaw set tight, eyes straight ahead. "Handle me?"

Keith did not respond.

  



	63. Chapter 63

The figure was in a black pilot's jumpsuit and full helmet, but was distinctly un-Galran in build. Allura had placed herself between the intruder and the memory core, hands still held in front of her, posture loose and relaxed and ready to move as quickly as necessary. She watched as he swept the temple ruin with his pistol before returning it to center on Allura.

"Are you the paladin?" He spoke in the common language, easy and unaccented. Allura stood there and thought, _I can disarm him in seven moves. Too many._

"I am not a paladin," she said, and held herself still. She didn't even twitch as he moved a step closer, head tilted as he regarded her. "The Green Paladin is already in their trial. You shall not interfere — and you are unwelcome here. I suggest that you leave before I take steps to remove you."

"You're Altean." He stopped just out of easy reach, but the grip on his weapon was loose.

There was no point in hiding it, if he knew of the paladins already. "I am Princess Allura," she said, and she heard the rapid intake of breath even under the helmet. The stranger dropped his arm, weapon now pointed at the floor.

"The _princess_ ," he said, a little awed. "You're supposed to be a myth." A moment's hesitation, and then the pistol came up again. "Maybe you are, maybe you aren't. I'm not in the business of taking risks." He gestured with his pistol for Allura to move aside, and she did not. "Move, Princess," he said irritably, and Allura's eyebrow twitched. There was something _familiar_ about that tone of voice.

"I will not," she said. And then she stepped forward quickly, and he jerked back, yanking his arm in toward his side even as she reached for it, intent on disarming him. The struggle was quick; and Allura wrenched the weapon away. It fell to the stone floor and slid out of reach of both of them.

The interloper yelped as Allura slammed him into the ground with ease, and then pinned him on his front, arm wrenched painfully behind his back. "Ow, _ow!"_

"I did warn you," she said mildly, putting pressure on his wrenched arm. "Now, how did you hear of me? Talk now, or this will definitely get worse."

"The others talked about the princess who escaped," he squeaked, voice gone high with pain. "That she had the keys to the ultimate weapon, ahhhhh please don't break my arm-!"

"What _others?_ " Allura asked, and he squirmed under her.

"The other Alteans!"

Allura froze in place, because it didn't process right the first time. He used that moment of confusion to his advantage and heaved, dislodging Allura and allowing him to roll away, cradling his wrenched arm to his chest as he sat up. "Other Alteans?" Allura repeated, sitting now on her knees on the floor of the temple. She raised her head to look at the stranger, sitting on the floor opposite her, and her eyes were already wet. "There were more survivors?"

"An entire colony." He was clearly watching her carefully. She covered her mouth with one hand and let a small sob escape, then wiped her eyes.

"Survivors," she said again, and laughed.

 

* * *

 

Shiro was all-too familiar with Galran prison ships. He recognized the curve of the corridors that led below, to the small, tight, permanent cells that he had spent so much time in. They bypassed most of those, though — and Shiro kept walking toward the areas above, past the training quarters, past the infirmary — and he stopped dead in his tracks when he felt Keith's hand brush his back.

It was a strange sensation that wicked up his spine, half of a shudder. He didn't bother to analyze it further. "Shiro, stop," Keith said unnecessarily. The corridor was empty, they'd barely passed anyone, but Keith had waited until even the cleaning drones had safely passed them by. He stepped past Shiro and Shiro stared at the top of his head. The way the deep violet ears emerged from that mess of long, dark hair didn't look like any of the Galra he'd had the _pleasure_ of encountering on these ships... but they did remind him of some of the smaller aliens he'd been corralled with before matches; or even some he'd been made to fight against. _Half-breeds._

He was too busy lost in the past to realize that Keith had unlocked the restraints that kept his wrists together in front of him. "I don't like this," Keith said; and Shiro wasn't certain if he was referring to the situation or the cuffs. "If this is my memory, why are we able to move around it freely? Why isn't it constricted to the points of reference that I _remember?_ "

"And what do you remember?" Shiro asked, rubbing his right wrist absently, as if that would restore feeling to a limb that was not entirely his own.

Keith's ears were still pointed back, but he wasn't looking at Shiro; instead staring at the cuffs still in his hands. "I remember being ... reprimanded," he said, and Shiro winced despite himself. He never had the _pleasure_ of being reprimanded, being handed over to the Witch instead. Keith looked up suddenly, and once again Shiro watched his demeanor change around him. He went from some bastard approximation of the person Shiro thought he knew, to an alien right before his eyes.

He put one hand on Shiro's arm. "Hands behind you," he hissed. Without hesitation, Shiro obeyed, hands behind his back like the restraints were there. Two burly Galra guards turned the corner, chatting with each other amicably. They started to pass Keith and Shiro, but then one snickered and said, "oi, look, it's the runt."

"Yah," the other said. "What are you doing with a prisoner out of 'is quarters?" They'd both stopped now, and Shiro felt Keith push his hand against Shiro's back, a silent plea not to stop.

The first Galran guard stepped into Shiro's path. "Oi, now," he said. "We're talkin' here, runt. What are you doin' with a prisoner out of quarters?"

"Official business," Keith snapped. "No one asked you."

"Mm," the second one had stopped behind Keith, and Shiro realized they were boxed in. Well, two of the guards, two of them — he didn't favor the guards. "Seems to me I might be forgetting, but weren't you just recently caught out letting prisoners escape?"

"If you don't move," Keith said, "I will move you."

"I think we best run this prisoner transfer by the boss, just to be certain," the one behind them said, taking a step back to touch the communicator built into the Galran armor. Shiro took a step forward and the first one looked down at him in surprise.

"They're from your memory, I take it," Shiro said conversationally.

"Bullies and cowards," Keith said. He still had his hand on Shiro's back — but when Shiro glanced slightly back, in his other hand was his bayard.

Shiro nodded his head a little, then took another step forward, giving himself enough space to twist and, very accurately deliver a snap kick to the first Galran's throat. He wasn't expecting such an assault and, fortuitously, leaned directly in to the path of Shiro's kick, thinking he would avoid a shot aimed at his chest. The sole of Shiro's boot caught the Galran just along the side of the jaw, and slammed him with little preamble against the opposite wall.

Shiro landed back on his feet with one arm tucked to his side, the other out at a counterbalance, and facing the other Galran; who had stopped what he was doing mid-thought and simply stared at Shiro, mouth agape.

"Hey, asshole," Keith said, and the Galran looked over at Keith, equally bewildered — and then looked down at the bayard-sword that Keith had quite deliberately driven straight through his chest. The Galran let out a loud squeal, as Keith put his foot on his thigh and yanked the sword clear, then the Galran toppled over backwards, already dead.

"Well, that was ... unnecessary," Shiro said.

"Felt good," Keith said, and aimed a kick at the body. "Fuck him, I wish I'd had the guts to do that years ago." He exhaled and looked to Shiro. "What?"

Shiro didn't know what expression he wore and frankly, had no desire to find out. "You helped prisoners escape?"

"I got prisoners killed," Keith said. "I don't particularly want to relive that, either." They both looked up at a low klaxon keened through the corridor, and Keith swore loudly. "Time to go." He darted past Shiro and grabbed Shiro by his wrist, practically dragging him after.

"That's the prisoner escape alarm," Shiro said.

"No _shit_ ," Keith snapped. "Asshole back there phoned it in." He looked back at Shiro and Shiro was once again struck by those gold eyes, and he shivered. " _What?_ "

Shiro yanked his hand free from Keith's own. "I don't need you dragging me," he said. "I can move perfectly fine on my own."

They glared at each other for a moment, the alarm going off around them, and then Keith spun on his heel. "Fine," he said. "Whatever. I'm sorry I touched you with my icky Galra hands. We're going this way."

"The escape pods are the other direction."

Keith spun back around, and threw both of his arms out. "I _thought_ if we were making an escape we'd avoid the _escape pods_ and head toward the actual launch bay. Does that meet with your approval?"

"That's a great plan," Shiro said. "The launch bay's the other direction, too."

" _Fuck_ ," Keith yelled, very loudly, and the echo of his voice drew the attention of several drone guards. The drone guards all turned in their direction, and Keith grabbed Shiro by the arm and yanked him after again. "Looks like we're going this way anyway," he said, and this time, Shiro didn't bother to argue.

  



	64. Chapter 64

"Uh," Lance said. "Excuse me, _what?_ " He pointed at the Altean standing on the piece of debris, then looked over at Hunk. "Did she just say she was from Altea? I thought Allura said it was destroyed."

"Lance, she said she's Yellow's paladin," Hunk said. "I'm a _little_ more concerned with that."

Lance held one hand out alongside his head. "She's got the ears, though." He squinted up at Ilianya. "Are you a princess, too?"

She was staring down at Lance with a peculiar expression. "The princess of the house of Alfor died in battle," she said. "Protecting the Castle of Lions. How do you know her name?"

Lance and Hunk exchanged glances. "You said you're the Yellow Paladin?" Hunk had lowered his blaster cannon, but had not allowed the bayard to return to its original shape. "Why didn't the memory core accept you, then?"

She flushed dark. "I simply didn't bother to begin the trial," she said flippantly. "I don't have time to sit here being questioned by _humans_." That said, she hopped down from her perch and walked confidently toward the still-glowing memory core. Then without a word, she touched the memory core. Lance and Hunk both watched as the glowing gold letters changed to white, then blinked out.

Ilianya slapped her hand against the core again, and Lance leaned in toward Hunk. "I think you should tell her," he stage-whispered, and Hunk shoved Lance's shoulder away, as Ilianya slapped both hands against the inactive memory core. "I don't _understand_ ," she said, and turned toward them. "Human paladin, explain your presence here."

Lance waved one hand, resting the muzzle of his plasma rifle against his shoulder. "I'm the Blue Paladin," he said by way of introduction. He smirked at her, and cocked an eyebrow, then indicated Hunk with his head, who had grown silent in all this. "And this is the Yellow Paladin."

" _What._ " She turned in a fury, and both Lance and Hunk immediately drew beads on her with their weapons before she got too close. " _I_ was meant for that role!"

"If you want to be the Yellow Paladin, more power to you," Hunk said finally, shifting his position and lowering his weapon.

Lance turned on him. "Hunk! What are you saying?"

"She's an Altean," Hunk said. "She's been trained for this sort of stuff. We just kind of stumbled into it, don't you think we should let the professionals handle this?" He held his bayard out, no longer a blaster cannon, and Ilianya took a tentative step forward, half an eye on Lance.

"Hunk, no," Lance said. "We're a team, aren't we?"

"Are you saying that if there's someone out there more qualified to ride Blue you wouldn't take the chance to go home?" Hunk said, and Lance drew back a little, stung.

"No one is more qualified to ride Blue," he said. "We're partners." He stared at Hunk, hurt. "We're a _team_ ," he repeated. "We're not gonna be able to form Voltron with a total stranger, man."

Ilianya, who had her hand outstretched to take the bayard, drew it back suddenly. "You've formed the weapon?" she said. "Even without the Black Paladin?"

"Shiro's the Black Paladin," Hunk said, and she took another step back.

"Galra?" she asked carefully.

They both shook their heads. "Shiro's human, like us," Hunk said.

She looked between them. "I would like to meet your Princess," she said. "Did she choose you, for your roles?"

"Blue kinda chose me," Lance said. "But, yeah. She told everyone else their lions." He glanced sidelong at Hunk. "Kinda suspect she went based on the color of everyone's shirts, _but-_ "

"Lance!" Hunk said, and Lance shrugged.

"If she is truly the Princess," Ilianya said, "then she is more qualified than our elders to choose the paladins. If that is the case, I shall rescind my rightful claim on the title of Yellow Paladin." She gave Hunk a look, and he put away his bayard. "Where is she?"

"With the Green paladin," Hunk said. "At the temple of Anaxi... Anix... the forest temple."

Ilianya's face lit up. "Ah, so my companion has already made contact. We should hurry."

"Companion?" Lance said.

" _Contact?_ " Hunk said. "I hope there's something left, after Allura got through with them."

 

* * *

 

Lance sat in the pilot seat and scowled over at Hunk. "I am _so_ mad at you," he said, and Hunk threw up his hands in aggravation. "How the hell do you think you're gonna get home, if you give over Yellow? We're on the other side of the freakin' _universe!_ "

"I'm not going to hand over Yellow!" Hunk said.

"You were _gonna!_ "

"This is a _war_ , Lance, this isn't a game!" Lance continued to make that same face and Hunk gestured to the viewscreen, where they could see the Altean Ilianya climbing into her single-passenger fighter craft. "They've been _trained_ for this! You don't hand off the game-winning play to a frosh who just stepped on the court for the first time!"

"That's not the point, man," Lance said, sourly. "You were _chosen._ "

"By Allura, who yes, is connected to the lions but only knew us for all of three _minutes._ " Hunk crossed his arms. "She's probably trained her whole _life._ "

"I still can't believe you were just gonna hand Yellow over," Lance said. "What if she's _Galra?_ She's flying a Galra ship!"

"That's a Galra ship? How do you know that?" Hunk stared at the fighter.

"... Keith said it was," Lance said.

"How did _Keith_ know it was Galran?"

"He probably sits up at night wanking over ship files, I don't fuckin' know," Lance said. "He's that kind of nerd." He rested both his hands on the flight controls. "I don't know if I like taking her to Allura, but that's four of us against one of her-"

"Two," Hunk said. "She said her friend was already there."

"Four of us against two of them," Lance amended. "Provided no one's called for backup." He eyed the craft, now hovering above the sandy dune, and inhaled. "I don't want to say I have a bad feeling about this, but something just doesn't feel _right._ "

"We should radio Shiro," Hunk muttered.

"Yeah, Hunk. Great idea." Lance grabbed the front of his tunic and tugged on it. "I'll be sure to open a comm line — oh wait, we don't have any comms with us because we're wearing fucking _bedsheets._ "

"You're wearing a bedsheet," Hunk said, holding on to the back of Lance's seat with one hand as Blue arced gracefully away from the temple. "I'm wearing a _tunic._ "

 

* * *

 

Pidge rather abruptly exited the memory core, landing solidly on her back with a loud thud, hard enough to drive the wind out of her lungs. " _Fuck,_ " Pidge yelped, after wheezing a second, and flailed herself into a sitting position.

"Pidge," Allura said, already on her feet. "Are you all right?"

She squinted at the memory core, which was back to glowing a soft green. "I think so," she said, and rubbed the center of her chest and winced. "There was some asshole, tall guy with dark hair and yellow eyes and he was a pain in my-" as she was speaking she was looking around the temple, and spotted the stranger in the black pilot jumpsuit. Pidge shot to her feet, wheeled her arms and promptly placed herself between Allura and the perceived danger.

"Pidge, it's all right," Allura said with a small smile. "He's not a threat."

The bayard in Pidge's hand was already sparking and ready for use. She eyed the guy in the helmet, then looked back at Allura without ever turning her back on the stranger. "You sure?"

"If he was a threat, he would have been dealt with long before you emerged," she said. "How did the trial go?"

"I'm not sure," she said. Pidge looked back at the person seated on the floor, brow furrowed. They hadn't said a word. "So who are you?" she asked, still on guard, bayard still between them just in case.

He shifted a little, reaching back and unhooking the helmet, taking it off slowly. Pidge — _stared_ , didn't move, didn't _breathe_ because what she was seeing didn't make the first bit of sense to her. Allura said nothing, standing behind her.

"Katie?" Matt Holt said, his brown hair stuck up in all directions from being encased in a helmet for so long. "What are _you_ doing _here_...!?"

  



	65. Chapter 65

The longest hallway was one of the lower decks that led to the launch bay. It curved along the bottom half of the Galra ship, the closest by far to the exterior of the ship. It featured a long line of crystalline viewports that allowed the pedestrians to view whatever portion of the galaxy the ship was currently visiting. The hallway wasn't in frequent use unless prisoners were being ferried between the launch bay and the prison decks, and Keith had many memories of standing against the viewports and just watching the distant, silent stars.

His shoulder bounced off of one of those many clear viewports as Shiro shoved him, hard. The force of the shove had driven them apart in the hallway, just in time to avoid the purple spray of plasma beams from one of the many drone soldiers the Galra used. Keith rolled with the blow, his back going flat against the port, his bayard in hand as Shiro did the same against the wall.

"Five of them, this time," Shiro said, his left arm going up out of habit, the small energy shield supplied by their paladin armor activating with his fist closing.

Keith winced as a plasma bolt pinged off the viewport near his head, leaving a long scorched mark scarred onto the crystal. "We're not going to make it to the launch bay," Keith said, and Shiro shrugged his right shoulder. "It's like shooting snakes in barrel."

"We're trapped in here," Shiro said. "We go back the way we came and we run into more of your friends." There was no underscore to the words that Keith could hear, but the words still stung. _Your friends._

He had no friends, here.

"Only thing we can do is keep moving forward," Shiro said. He'd previously made a fist with his right hand, now he relaxed it and held it rigid. Keith didn't look over at Shiro, although he saw the Galran-made tech start to glow from the corner of his eye. "Cover me."

"Cover you?" Keith repeated, thinkin of thinking of the plasma rifle cast aside when its energy had been depleted. "With _what_ , exactly?"

"You'll think of something," Shiro said, pushing up off the wall and tucking as much of his body as he could manage behind the energy shield. He charged forward, toward the robots, and Keith hesitated only a moment before following. Plasma bolts pinged off of Shiro's shield and one clipped Keith's ear, he hissed at the sear of pain and the sudden horrid stench of burnt fur, but then Shiro was in the middle of the drones and Keith only a few steps behind.

Most of the drones that populated the prison ship were guards and soldiers, equipped for gunfights. While some of them were programmed for close-quarters fighting, those were usually kept to the decks where the prisoners were held — and wouldn't be found roaming the halls, nevermind near the launch bay. These machines weren't ready for close combat in the form of sword or superheated prosthetic arm.

Shiro scattered them like tenpins and Keith dispatched those not destroyed by the wide sweeps of Shiro's arm. They made it through the drones mostly unscathed, and as they finally came to the arc in the corridor that took them out of direct line of sight Keith slowed and touched his wounded ear tenderly. Plasma bolts were hot enough to cauterize on impact, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt like bloody hell.

Shiro stood a little further up the corridor, breathing hard. The shield on his left arm had dissipated, although his right hand still glowed hot, purple lines of power from the Galra crystal snaked up his arm, visible even under the paladin armor. He was watching Keith, and Keith tried not to focus on his expression too much because he didn't want to think about what he saw there. It was hard enough to breathe now as it was.

"You're hurt," Shiro said, and Keith dropped his hand from the top of his head like he was scalded.

"I'm fine." It was little effort to brush it off. "Don't worry about it." It wasn't real, anyway ... Lance had been _shot_ in the other memory core, and came out whole and hearty. Keith started forward again, toward the blast doors that separated this corridor from the one that lead into the launch bay proper. "We're almost out of here, anyway." He put his hand on the touchpad and it glowed purple under his touch. Keith tried not to think about how much larger the example hand print was, and how small his hand looked in comparison. _Runt._

"Keith!" Shiro barked suddenly, his name sharp and clear, an order. Keith whipped his head around to look at Shiro, but Shiro was already moving forward, one hand on Keith's shoulder, gripped tight, yanking him back.

Later, when he was turning it over in his head, Keith was able to reconstruct the exact order of things that occurred. Shiro had him by the shoulder, yanking him back. The blast doors slid open, a half-dozen drones waiting expectantly on the other side, rifles already up and glowing. The plasma bolts filled the corridor with the stench of ozone and burnt flesh; and the air was knocked completely out of Keith's lungs when his back hit the hard tile.

Shiro over top of him, arranged in such a way that Keith knew he had swung himself around, put himself between Keith and the blast door, Keith and the drone soldiers, Keith and _danger_ — and Shiro looking down at him, blood running from his mouth as his eyes searched Keith's. "Not hurt?"

Keith didn't have time to respond before Shiro collapsed atop him.

 

* * *

 

Pidge didn't move as the pilot — as Matt, as _Matt_ stood up slowly from his seated position on the floor of the temple. She kept the bayard up and ready, but her hands were shaking, just enough that Allura could see. "Matt?" Pidge said in a strangled voice. "What are you doing _here_? I thought, I _thought-_ " there were a million thoughts, mostly truncated to dead, _dead._

"What am _I_ doing here?" Matt was on his feet now ... taller, Pidge thought a little dizzingly; hard to tell without someone to measure by. His glasses weren't the same, smaller lenses, fit better to his face, hair longer and tied back into a scruffy, spiky tail at the base of his neck. There was a faint scar that ran through his left eyebrow, when he brushed his bangs back from his forehead in a starkly familiar move — _frustration, anger, confusion —_ she could see how it truncated below the frame of his glasses. "What are you — how is this even _possible_ , what are you doing here!?" Some unknown emotion dashed over his features.

Allura said, behind her, "Pidge, is that your brother?" and Matt said, almost overlapping her, "who the hell is _Pidge?"_ There was another heartbeat, another moment, and Matt's brow creased, and he said, "Wait. Pidge-podge? Katie, are you going by-"

He didn't get to complete that thought, but that was because Pidge hit him about the center of his chest, headfirst, arms around him with enough force to send them both over backwards. "Matt!" Her voice went up as she pressed her forehead into his chest, and just cried. "You're _alive._ "

  



	66. Chapter 66

Shiro was a lot heavier than he looked. That was quite the accomplishment, Keith thought grimly as he mostly-dragged Shiro over the mess of drone pieces scattered along the hallway, if only because Shiro looked like he weighed a _ton._ Once clear of the wreckage Keith leaned against the wall of the corridor and let Shiro down as easy as he could, which was difficult enough. Shiro wheezed a bit in pain as he slid down against the wall, and Keith did not stare at the streak of blood left behind by that action.

"What the _fuck_ were you thinking?" Keith said angrily. Anger was safer, because fear would eat him alive. "Why would you _do_ something like that, Shiro?"

Shiro had laid his right arm over his lap, curled against his stomach. He squinted open his eyes slowly, clearly in a great deal of pain. "You think I would let you get shot?" he asked slowly.

" _Yes!"_ Keith almost shouted, throwing both his hands wide. "You're not supposed to — this is a _memory_ , fuck, what if it is my trial? Why would you _do_ that, when I'm _this_?" He gestured at himself, a mockery of purple fur and yellow eyes wearing the red paladin armor, and realized Shiro wasn't quite following the movement of his hands, so he dropped them both and curled his hands into fists at his sides. They were in the open and exposed here, but as of yet no additional drone soldiers had come to check on the destroyed squad.

Shiro inhaled and coughed weakly. Keith was sick to his stomach, he knew this wasn't real, but at the same time it _was_ , the scent of blood and oil and sweat thick in the air. He dropped into a crouch in front of Shiro, elbows on his knees for a moment, before he hung his head and pushed both of his hands back through his hair, trying to keep it together. Shiro watched him, head back against the wall, and Keith let out an aggravated noise, half growl, half something else entirely. " _Why?"_ he said again, and the single syllable was loaded with more emotion than he could properly voice. "Why can't you just hate me?"

A pained expression crossed Shiro's face as he shifted a bit. He clearly didn't have the strength to force himself up away from the wall, though, and after a momentary shuffle he slumped back and sighed out a wet noise. "Shiro!" Keith said, and lunged forward, one hand on Shiro's shoulder, the other going to his face, holding his head up as Shiro's eyes drifted closed. "Fuck, you're not going to do this to me," Keith snarled, putting his forehead against Shiro's. "Open your eyes, dammit! _Shiro!_ "

He was so focused on Shiro, that when the edges of the world started to fuzz around them, Keith didn't even notice. He didn't notice the way the color washed out of the world, or how everything outside of this portion of the hallway seemed to fade into aether. Keith didn't notice any of it, his lungs and chest empty, forehead pressed to Shiro's, eyes now closed tight — but he certainly did notice the feeling that seemed to coil around his midsection and, with a violent yank, pull him backwards and away as the world itself inverted.

 

* * *

 

Keith let out a yelp as his back hit the hard stone floor of the temple. It was the only noise he managed to get out before the wind got knocked out of him, and he scrabbled at his chest with one hand, his fingers catching on the gauzy material of the tunic he was wearing.

_Shiro_.

He made an attempt to roll to his feet, thwarted by the fact that he couldn't quite seem to catch his breath; the air of the temple seemed thin and it made him dizzy, so much so that he was barely to his hands and knees when something hard and bony struck him right between his shoulder blades, slamming him face-first into the floor.

Head whirling, Keith's fingers scrabbled against the rock. Whatever was on his back was holding him down know, a foot or a knee or _something_ — and a hand curled in his hair and yanked his head back —an unfamiliar voice snarling in his ear, " _Galran scum!"_ and his head was too much a mess to focus, he still couldn't _breathe...._

He twisted and bucked and tried to fight the hand in his hair, and he saw Shiro then, lying on his side, his back to Keith —whole, not bleeding, his side rising and falling regularly, _breathing_ and the sight made Keith so giddy with relief he went slack and let the hand slam his head down again. "What were you doing in the paladin trial!?" the voice said, barked — the Common speech was accented strangely, in a familiar way that he couldn't quite place. Keith rolled his head under his attacker's hand, saw Shiro roll forward, forehead to the ground, pushing his fists under him to stand upright and the fact that he was alive and breathing and _moving_ made the surrender to darkness just that much easier...

 

* * *

 

Shiro sat up on his knees and took a few deep breaths before looking over at Keith. Keith was laying face-down on the floor, a figure in black on him, keeping him down, with one hand in Keith's hair. Shiro stared at this going on for a good ten seconds because he was still rebooting, and processing what he was seeing took longer than anticipated.

Keith's attacker looked up, the dim light of the temple's torches reflecting off the helmet they wore. Shiro stared at the figure, Keith immobile underneath him, and something in his head just snapped.

The figure whipped out a blade of some kind but Shiro led with his right arm and the bladed weapon pinged off the Galra prosthetic. He caught the black-suited individual by the neck and he didn't have time to do anything but attempt to slash at Shiro, even as Shiro slammed him back into the floor behind Keith. "Don't _touch him_ ," Shiro snarled, as the figure in black kicked and squirmed under his grip. Shiro held him down, long enough to find the catch of his helmet and pop it open, to reveal dark hair and violet eyes narrowed in anger. That wasn't what surprised Shiro into hesitating, though ... it was the ears, long and thin, poking through that dark tousled hair.

His hesitation nearly cost him. The Altean — and he _was_ Altean, down to the green marks on his face and strangely-colored pupils — twisted under Shiro's hand and tried to slash Shiro's arm open. Shiro moved at the last moment, switching hands to his prosthetic and catching the Altean's free hand with his left one. He slammed his hand back against the hard floor which caused the knife to clatter from his fingers.

"Let me _go_ ," the Altean seethed, his hand wrapped tight about Shiro's wrist, trying in vain to pull his right hand free from the Altean's throat. "That creature is _defiling_ the memory core, I have a _duty-_ "

Shiro leaned his face in close to the Altean. "That _creature_ ," he repeated, his voice raw and ragged, _"_ is my _mate_ , and if you value your life you're going to sit up and _apologize to him._ "

"I will not apologize to a _Galran_!"

Shiro looked over at Keith, who still had not stirred. He was still, worryingly, purple... and Shiro remembered that the Galra had issue with the moon's atmosphere. He picked up the knife carried by the Altean — and after an abbreviated pat-down to ensure that the Altean could drawn no additional weapons — left him there on the ground and moved to Keith's side.

"Keith, c'mon," Shiro said, rolling him up on his side. There was a cut on Keith's face from being slammed into the floor, and the blood had stained the fur around the wound deep red. "Don't do this to me now."

Shiro brushed his hand through Keith's hair as Keith breathed laboriously, lying in Shiro's arms.

 


	67. Chapter 67

Lance sat in Blue's cockpit, both of his hands resting lightly on the controls. The temple of Anaximenes was the exact same as they had left it, with the exception of the sleek black fighter craft sitting parked on its plaza. He was watching as Illianya landed her own fighter craft, which was the same type; a long narrow body and two swept-back wings. The fighter craft were mostly matte black, but now seeing them closer than before he could recognize that they were well-worn, the bodies of the craft scarred from combat.

"Maybe you should go get Shiro and Keith," Hunk said, and Lance tilted his head, eyes still on the fighter craft as the cockpit release popped and the small, dark form of the Altean vaulted expertly out. She stood on the plaza a moment before taking off her helmet, and tossed it into the open cockpit, before it sealed behind her. Hunk stared at Lance a long moment, then sighed and snapped his fingers in Lance's field of vision. "Earth to Lance," Hunk said. "Earth to Lance. Come in, Lance."

Lance blinked and shook his head, then glared at Hunk. "What, _what?_ "

"Aren't you taken at this point, dude?" Hunk said.

"I'm not-" Lance's cheeks went pink. "That wasn't what I was thinking about, Hunk!"

"Sure you weren't," Hunk said, but his tone was light. He drummed his fingers on the back of Lance's pilot seat. "Let me off, I'll go with her to talk to Allura and Pidge and whoever else is here."

"I should go too," Lance said, and stood up. "We don't know what they're planning, I don't like blindly trusting someone who attacked you in the dark." He didn't get particularly far, as Hunk put his hand on Lance's shoulder and very firmly sat him back down in the pilot's seat.

"You're the only transportation they've _got_ ," Hunk said. "Go get them, bring them here. Between Pidge and me, we can protect the Princess."

They exchanged a long look, and Lance sighed and smiled. "All right, fine," he said. "But don't tell her I'm taken, got it?"

"Don't cheat on your boyfriends that you've only been with like a _month_ ," Hunk groaned, and shoved Lance's head. Lance stuck his tongue out at Hunk and laughed, as Blue lowered the exit ramp to let Hunk at least have a dignified exit from the lion. As soon as the ramp closed, though, the grin melted off of Lance's face and he sat forward, staring at the viewscreen. Ilianya waited for Hunk; she had turned her back on the Blue Lion so Lance couldn't see her expression. Hunk caught up to her and they both started to cross the plaza toward the temple's entrance.

Lance leaned his head against the back of the pilot's seat, and then exhaled, both hands on the controls. "All right, Blue," he said. "Let's go get Shiro and Keith."

Blue rumbled something that almost seemed like a response, as opposed to the engines firing as she lifted off the temple plaza and raced across the sky.

 

* * *

 

"How did you even escape the Galra?" Pidge was sitting on her knees, directly in front of Matt. She had pushed her glasses up her face, wiping her palms over her eyes because they kept watering. This was insane, she couldn't even believe it was happening right now in front of her. Matt's grin was large and infectious and she was having a hard time keeping focused on the questions that burned in her chest. "Where's dad?"

His grin faltered at that. Matt looked down and Pidge's stomach plummeted. "I had to leave him," Matt admitted. "He was hurt, when the opportunity finally came up to escape ..." he looked back up at Pidge, determination on his face. "But that's why I'm going _back,_ I'm going to find the prison ship again and I'm going to rescue everyone, I made a _promise._ " Pidge nodded her head violently.

"I'll help," she said. " _We'll_ help, we can't let down all those prisoners."

"How did you even know about the Galra, about where I was?" Matt asked suddenly.

"The Garrison's dirty," she said. "They knew, they told everyone you and dad and Shiro were dead and they _knew_ the truth-" Pidge jerked a little when she felt Allura's hand on her shoulder, she looked up at Allura, who was standing, facing the entrance to the temple. She stood up quickly, bayard in hand still, and even Matt glanced back the way he had come.

"Hunk!" Allura said, and Pidge relaxed again, still standing. Beside Hunk was not Lance, though, and Allura's posture changed just slightly. Shoulders back, chin up, and every inch the royal Princess of a fallen bloodline. Pidge wasn't paying as much attention to Allura, instead staring at the woman walking beside Hunk.

She was also an Altean.

"Princess!" Hunk called, and waved his hand. He drew up a moment as Matt stood up beside Pidge, and a clear confusion crossed his features. "Who-?" he started to ask, but before he could request clarification, the Altean woman stepped past him and stood before Allura.

There was a long moment of silence as the two women measure each other up. Then, without fanfare, the golden-haired Altean dropped to one knee, one arm held across her chest as she bowed her head. "Daughter of the line of Alfor," she said. "Breath of the Lions. I am Ilianya, candidate for paladin, and I serve at your behest."

"Ilya," Matt said, and she did not lift her head.

"Forgive the human," Ilianya said, with her head still bowed. Then she frowned, and turned her head slightly, so she could see Matt out of the corner of her eye. Then she lifted her head and _stared_ at Pidge, then at Matt.

"Uh," Matt said, and held his hand over Pidge's head. "This is my sister, Ilya. Katie."

"Pidge," Pidge corrected. She looked over at Matt and frowned too. "Wait, there are other Alteans? And you _know_ them?"

Hunk raised his hand. "Um," he said. "Pidge, is that your brother?"

Ilianya spoke at the same time. "Why is your sister a paladin?"

"Wait, you're a _paladin?_ Of _Voltron?_ "

As everyone's voices rose and overlapped each other, Allura took a deep breath. "Would you all kindly be _quiet?_ " she ordered, and somehow without raising her voice her projection completely overrode the others. There was a long silence as they all stared at her, and Allura leaned forward and put her hand on Ilianya's shoulder. "Please," she said. "Rise." She looked over at Pidge and Matt, and then to Hunk. "We all have a lot of questions for each other," she said. "I think it would be best to wait for the others, before we continue."

Pidge nodded her head, and glanced to Hunk. "Are you really letting Lance go pick up his boyfriends?" she asked, and Hunk shrugged.

Ilianya stepped over to Matt, and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll comm Rian," she said. "And tell him to stand down."

"Oh," Matt said. "That's probably a good idea. You should hurry."

 

* * *

 

"Well," Lance said as he landed the Blue Lion in the midst of aliens actually fleeing the Fire Temple. "This looks promising." He watched as one of the skiffs took off so quickly it knocked a six-legged green alien and one that resembled a giant bipedal sloth both off their feet, then shook his head. "Only Keith," he said.

He was halfway down the exit ramp when he spotted Shiro leaving the temple. "Shiro!" he called, and waved his hand over his head. "You won't even _believe_ what is going on...."

Lance's voice trailed off in disbelief, as Shiro was carrying a Galra cradled in his arms.

  



	68. Chapter 68

Keith coughed violently, and he flailed himself into a sitting position in an attempt to clear his airway. He pushed away from the arm around him and wheezed, inhaling recirculated air and gasping a few times, before it seemed like the fit had passed. Keith breathed raggedly for a few moments, before he started at the touch on his shoulder, at the hand that was placed on his back and and pressed firmly.

"You all right?" Shiro's voice asked, neutrally.

"That atmosphere is no joke," Keith said, voice raw and still breathing hard. He sat back, placing a hand on his throat, and looked up to see Lance seated opposite them on the floor, arms crossed and a thoughtful expression on his features. Keith's body was too worn out to react to Lance's presence in any way other than an exhausted wince. "Lance..."

"So," Lance said without moving, his head tilted just a little, considering. "When were you going to tell the rest of us about the purple and fuzzy thing?"

Keith wanted to lean back against Shiro, to gather strength from his presence, but he wasn't certain he was allowed that. However, Shiro hadn't removed his hand from Keith's back and there it stayed, warm and solid. "Lance," Keith said again, and lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Dude, I stuck my dick in you. Is it contagious?" Lance made a face. "You didn't give me like, furry herpes or something, right?"

Keith's head snapped up and he _stared_ at Lance, utterly confused while Shiro sighed. " _Lance_ ," he said.

"It's a valid question!" Lance leaned forward, putting his weight on one hand as he peered at Keith. "Maybe he has fleas. Now _I_ feel itchy."

"What the _fuck_ Lance," Keith said. "I don't have fleas! And I'm not _contagious_ , you can't catch being half..." his voice hitched a moment on the word. "...Galra." He took a deep breath and somehow didn't break eye contact with Lance, who was still giving him a measuring look. "If it makes it better to hate me," Keith started to say, when Lance slapped both of his hands on the floor.

"Are you fucking _serious?_ " Lance's voice actually broke. " _Hate_ you?" He lunged forward and grabbed Keith by the front of his tunic, and Keith flailed a little, nearly shoving Lance in the face as Lance jabbed his finger into bruised flesh. "What is _that?_ "

"Ow, _Lance_ , what the _fuck are you-_ " Keith did put his hand on Lance's face, trying to push him away, as Lance pressed his finger against the wound again. "Ow! _Stop that!_ "

"What is it?" Lance said, and there was an undercurrent of anger in his voice that Keith had never heard before.

"Where you bit me," Keith said, and Lance released the front of his tunic, sitting back on his knees. Keith's hand had snapped to his neck, covering the healing wound with his palm. "What the hell was _that_ -"

"I don't hate you," Lance said. "I'm in love with you, you freak." He put both of his hands on his knees and glared, still too close to Keith and Shiro. "I _am_ pissed, though." That said, he looked over Keith's shoulder, at Shiro, seated behind him. "And I can't speak for Shiro." That said, Lance pushed himself upright, and Keith realized with a start that they were in the cockpit of Blue, behind the pilot's chair.

Keith crossed his arms over his chest and shivered, and after a moment glanced back at Shiro. Shiro wasn't looking at him, he was watching Lance, who climbed over and into the pilot's chair. "Your Altean buddy is standing on top of his starfighter and sending us death glares," Lance said.

"I don't care," Shiro said. "You said there's more of them? And they're definitely Altean?"

"They sure as hell look like it," Lance said.

"And you left them with Princess Allura," Shiro did not sound impressed by this.

"Hey, Hunk and Pidge can handle things." He leaned forward and pressed buttons on the console, one after another. The communicator light was flashing, so he pressed that one too, and a video communication popped up on the left side viewscreen."Oh, hey, Coran," Lance said. "We've had a hell of a few days-"

"You must return to the ship immediately," Coran said, bypassing all pleasantries. "Two large Galra ships entered the system six hours ago."

Shiro pushed Keith mostly out of his lap and stood, using the back of Lance's seat to get leverage. "Have they found the castle?"

"The low power mode is enough to keep us hidden for a while," Coran said. "Unless they have scout craft do a flyby of this particular moon. But it's a frigate, and a prison ship."

"Do you think someone tipped them off?" Shiro asked.

Coran shook his head. "Lance has been flying the Blue Lion all around a moon that has a bounty on Voltron paladins, I doubt that has anything to do with it."

"Hey!" Lance said, offended.

"We'll get the others and get back to the ship right away," Shiro said. "Keep all communications to a minimum, we don't want them tracing the signal back to the Castle of Lions."

"I've been doing this since before your species was _born_ ," Coran said with a bit of a huff. "But yes. Hurry." The communications window shut, and Lance sniffed.

"Before your species was even _born_ ," he imitated in a falsetto. "What climbed up Coran's ass?"

"Well, we did leave him alone on the castle ship to go play in hot springs he was clearly looking forward to," Keith said, and Lance shrugged. Shiro patted the back of Lance's seat.

"Can you open a comm to the Altean?" he asked, even as they watched the diminutive dark-haired alien touch his ear, and then jump down into the open cockpit of his ship. "Or maybe he got a communication."

"Maybe he's working with the Galra," Keith said bitterly, hauling to his feet as well, finally. He was only a little off-balance. "He is flying a Galra ship."

"They're not working with the Galra," Lance said with confidence. "Unlike us." He shot Keith a sidelong look a slight smirk, and Keith scowled, looking hurt.

 

* * *

 

True to form, the Altean followed the Blue Lion across the sky toward the abandoned tree-top temple. There were two other ships waiting for them there, and as Lance set down the Blue Lion the Altean landed his craft in perfect formation with the other two.

Lance watched Keith move warily. He didn't move any different, but watching Shiro carry a clear Galra — even if that Galra had Keith's hair and face — onto the Blue Lion had been unnerving at best. Watching the purple fade from his complexion and his ears change and all the alien-ness just melt away while he was semi-conscious ... that had been fucking _weird._ But here he was looking like regular old Keith again, and Lance still wasn't sure what to think about it.

But, he hadn't been lying. He'd decided a while ago that he was in love with Keith, so this was just a hiccup in the grand scheme of things. Or ... something bigger than a hiccup, but smaller than total cardiac arrest. A seizure? Lance tapped his chin, but was interrupted when Keith grabbed his arm and yanked him the rest of the way down the ramp, toward the temple. They both hurried after Shiro, who walked quickly and with a purpose.

The Altean was still climbing down from his craft as they passed, and he gave Keith an absolutely murderous look. "I can take him," Lance said confidently, and Keith shot him a perplexed look.

"Princess," Shiro called as he entered the temple. They would have to gather everyone quick to get out of there so they could get back to the Castle and make whatever preparations were needed. However he said nothing else, and Lance and Keith both almost ran into his back as they entered the temple's front corridor.

"Shiro," Lance complained, but then realized the others had been heading out of the temple and had stopped suddenly when Shiro entered the corridor. "What the heck, man?"

Then Shiro was moving quickly forward, one arm outstretched. "Matt?" he said in disbelief, at the same time that the sandy-haired person who looked _just like Pidge_ moved forward as well. Lance's mouth opened a little, and he looked to Keith, baffled, as Shiro grabbed a stunned Matt and pulled him into a hug.

  



	69. Chapter 69

Ilianya touched her wrist, and the forearm of her black flightsuit lit in the same soft teal that glowed on the paladin armor. A small display appeared above her arm, and she touched the keypad simulated by the holographic computer. "Two ships," she confirmed, as everyone crowded around her. The keypad dissolved and the hologram became a three-dimensional map.

"That's the orbiting waystation," Shiro said, and Ilianya nodded her head, and then zoomed it out.

"The frigate is in orbit around Eaphus itself, not the moon or docking at the waystation," she said. "It appears the prison ship is just here for a transfer, maybe gladiator games." She tapped her wrist again and the map rotated a little. "We've been tagging and trailing several prison ships. We're not able to read it's IF/F from here, are we, Holt?"

Matt was standing back from the group of them, his own small computer readout going and Pidge glued to his side, eyes narrowed. "I'll have to get closer to see if it's one we've tagged," he said. He looked over at Pidge. "I've — _we've_ been following prison ships for weeks, trying to find the one I escaped from, or the one Takashi could have been on." He looked over at Shiro, who didn't lift his head from studying the display Ilianya held out, but nodded his head to show that he was listening to Matt.

"But why's the frigate hanging back, then?" Hunk asked. "What is _it_ here for, especially if Galra can't survive the moon's atmosphere."

"Drone soldiers aren't affected by insignificant things such as an atmosphere," Ilianya sniffed. "But I don't think that they're here to conquer, their presence in the waystation in orbit is enough to keep Eaphus firmly in the empire."

"No, they're here because someone reported an idiot in a blue lion flying recklessly around," Rian, the other Altean, snorted, arms crossed.

"Hey!" Lance said indignantly. "I wasn't flying _recklessly._ "

"Do you think it's scanning for the castle, princess?" Shiro asked, and Allura frowned, also studying the map. The gas giant was large enough that only the curve of it showed along the edge of the map.

"That would be my assumption," Allura said with a frown.

"Then that's a poor way of doing it," Keith said, and they looked at him. He too was focused on the map above Ilianya's arm to notice. "The magnetic fields that the gas giant emits would be playing havoc with the frigate's long-range scanners. They'll never find the ship just hanging in its orbit like that."

"That's a good point," Ilianya said. "What _are_ they doing, then?"

"Waiting for the Blue Lion to break orbit and then follow it back to the castle," Hunk said. Allura's attention swung to Hunk and he shrugged. "I mean, that's what _I_ would do, if I knew someone was hiding in the system. If the Blue Lion is planetside, it's gotta leave at some point. Then I send a few small recon ships behind it and wham!" He slammed one fist into the palm of his other hand. "Got'em!"

"I am _not_ leaving Blue alone here," Lance said.

"Nobody said anything about leaving Blue, Lance," Pidge said.

"Blue should stay behind," Keith said. "And Lance, too." Lance shot Keith a betrayed look, that Keith ignored completely. "They'll be looking for Blue, but not for shuttles. We can get back to the castle and get our lions, and then go settle this frigate once and for all."

"Alternatively," Hunk said, "I bet we can outrun the frigate."

"No," Rian said. "We're not gonna run, we're gonna take down the frigate and tag the prison ship."

"I agree with the Altean," Keith said. "We can't just let this opportunity go to waste!"

"As much as I would like there to be one less Galran frigate running around," Lance said, "maybe Hunk is right. This place might be under Galra rule in name, but the people here aren't suffering or being exploited. More people would get hurt if we stood and fought here, than if we bolted."

"Your paladins are cowards," Rian spat toward Allura. Ilianya lifted her head and glared at him, but Allura ignored the condemnation. Lance caught Keith by his shoulder and kept him in place before he could lunge at the Altean.

"My paladins are well aware of the stakes at hand," Allura said. She lifted her head and looked at Lance, who had caught Keith's arm now, linking his arm with Keith's and using the physical contact to keep him from making any more enemies. "Lance, if you would go ahead and radio Coran to bring the castle out of low-power mode and prepare it for a quick launch."

Lance nodded his head and unlinked his arm with Keith's. Keith scowled — not at anyone in particular, just in general, and Shiro put his hand on Keith's shoulder.

"I feel that Hunk and Lance are both correct," Allura said, and Lance, who was halfway to the exit, let out an audible "Yes!" that echoed a little. "It's best for us to get away from Eaphus for the moment and figure out our plan from there. Our exit might make any further action far more difficult having lost the element of surprise, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make." Allura looked to the Alteans, and Matt. "You three are of course invited to accompany us, but I understand if your path lies elsewhere."

"I would not pass up a chance to serve you, my princess," Ilianya said with no hesitation. Matt nodded his head as well, arm around Pidge.

"We've got so much to catch up on," he said.

Rian let out a groan and said, "well I can't take on an entire frigate on my _own_ , now can I?"

"I'd _really_ like to see him try," Keith muttered, and Shiro squeezed his shoulder.

 

* * *

 

Lance sat in Blue and crossed his arms, looking up through the top viewscreen. Blackened, coiled tree branches blocked much of his view of the sky, and even if he had an unobstructed view he knew he would not be able to see the waystation locked as it was in tidal orbit above the moon. The Galran frigate would be too small to see against the vast, colorful surface of the gas giant that took up half the sky as well, so he had no idea what direction to look.

There was something bothering him, niggling at the back of his mind like an insistent itch and he couldn't figure out what it _was_. It was frustrating, that's what it was, and Lance grunted a little as he slumped further down in the seat, legs jutting out.

He'd left the ramp down on Blue, because hell, they were all going to squeeze into her cockpit again and judge Lance's piloting skills, so what was the point in pulling up the ramp? Blue's engines weren't running but he felt a small tremor that he usually would account for as an engine hiccup, and Lance cocked his head.

"They are _too_ judging me," he said out loud, because why the hell not talk to the semi-sentient fighter craft? "Shiro and Keith are both better pilots than I am."

At that, the tremor was stronger this time, and several of the holographic displays illuminated themselves. Lance stared at them; they usually only activated while the lion was in flight, so he sat up as information started scrolling down them very, very quickly. It was all in Altean, so Lance had absolutely no chance of reading it, even if it went by at a speed that he could comprehend. "Blue," he said, and put his hand out to the display. "I appreciate the encouragement, as I'm assuming that's what this is, but I can't read this-"

As he reached out his hand to the display, Hunk's head popped around the corner into the cockpit itself. "Who are you talking to, Lance?" he asked. "Is Coran on the comm?"

Abruptly, the displays winked out. Lance leaned back around the chair. "Coran already had the ship up and running, he'd anticipated Allura's decision," he said. "He's aware that some of the craft coming in are Galran, though, thought he'd need that heads up."

"Did you tell him?" Hunk asked, as Keith squeezed past him into the cockpit.

"I'm going to stomp on that little shit's face," Keith announced, and threw himself against the side of the cockpit, arms crossed angrily.

Lance digested that for a moment. "And here I thought I was the only person who'd earned that honor," he said, and then looked over to Hunk. "I didn't, I didn't feel right telling him over the comm, you know? Like it's not my place to."

Keith gave Lance a weird look, and Pidge wormed into the cockpit, followed by Allura and finally Shiro. Lance shrugged loosely at Keith and wiggled his eyebrows, something that elicited a groan from Hunk.

"Can you two ever _not_ be gross?" Pidge asked.

"Depends," Lance said. "Can you ever stop being a gremlin?"

"Feed me after midnight and see what happens," Pidge said.

"Matt gave me their IF/F signatures," Shiro said. "If you want to key them in so Blue recognizes them as friendlies." Lance hovered his hand over where the input keyboard would usually appear, to type them in quickly. He put in the information as Shiro gave it to him, then looked out the forward viewscreen to see Ilianya climbing into her starfighter, the last of the three of them to do so.

"Do we have any coordinates on the waystation?" Lance asked. "Or any idea where the frigate is at in its orbit?"

"Nope," Pidge said cheerfully. "Don't get us killed, Lance."

"Just for that, I'm gonna make you hit your head on the ceiling," Lance said, resting his hands on the controls. Pidge automatically put one hand on her head as if that was enough to cushion it, and Hunk leaned forward and said urgently, "dude, remember this thing doesn't come with barf bags."

"Hunk, if you throw up on me, I'm ejecting you into space," Lance said. "I'm not even kidding here, just a little bit of puke and you're a Hunksicle."

Shiro put one hand around Allura's waist to help brace her. " _Lance_ ," he said, and Lance didn't look back, but shrugged exaggeratedly.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, yanking on both of the flight controls at the same time, causing the Blue Lion to leap forward into the air. "Where's a Kenny Loggins soundtrack when you need it?"

 


	70. Chapter 70

"You gotta be kidding me," Lance said, hands on his hips and head jutted forward to study the large, three dimensional map that sprawled across the entire length of the bridge. "All that fancy flying, and the Galra ship was on the other side of the _planet?_ "

"I don't want any reminders of your 'fancy flying'," Pidge said, seated in her claimed spot at navigation. Allura stood in the center of the bridge, still in the gauzy native gown of the moon of Eaphus, her hair plaited back. She was maneuvering the map to get a better view of the entire star system.

"Eaphus's moon isn't the only habitable planet in this system," Allura said. "Perhaps the natives of Mochuerus are the Galra's true target." She was frowning, though. "The entire system is Galra-held, though, so I'm not certain what the point is of staging a campaign this far from its target."

"Maybe it's true target is us," Hunk said. "And it was just luck that when we were going off-planet that the frigate had the entire planet of Eaphus between it and us."

"There's no such thing as luck," Rian snorted from where he stood. The two Alteans were off to the side, watching the princess manipulate the map. Coran was standing entirely too close to Rian, who had been creeping slowly away to no avail. "Maybe they're confident that their spy will tell them when to strike."

Keith visibly flinched, and Lance stepped forward, putting himself between Keith and Rian's acidic glare. "Hey, you little shit," Lance said. "What proof do _we_ have you're not a bunch of Galran spies? You fly Galran starfighters!"

"Because if we were," Ilianya said calmly, "we would have already taken the castle by now." She looked down at Rian, who stood a half-head shorter than the golden-haired Altean. "And _you_ should watch your mouth," she added sharply, eyes narrowed.

"I think we would draw more attention if we left now," Shiro said, addressing Allura and ignoring the spat growing behind him.

"We're sitting ducks if we stay here," Hunk said.

"And we make ourselves a target if we leave now," Allura agreed with Shiro. "We'll stay. A long range sensor scan will trip the alerts, and that _should_ give us enough time to scramble the lions and defend the castle." She brought her hands together, and most of the map condensed into just Eaphus. The moon that they had spent the past few days on was barely the size of a fist, next to the large image.

A bright spot lit up beside the moon. "This is the waystation," Allura said. "Where the prison ship is currently." She looked up at the Alteans, and Matt who stood awkwardly between them and Shiro. "You wish to ... _tag_ it?"

Matt nodded his head. "Where I escaped from ... it was a much larger prison ship. It stays in whatever system it's in, and these smaller prison ships shuttle combatants and make prisoner transfers throughout the Galran empire." He looked over at Shiro a moment, but Shiro's eyes were glued to the map. "By tagging them we can create a traffic pattern of the ships, and use that to try to construct a map to the location of the main prisoner colony, and rescue everyone."

Pidge sat up in her chair. "What do you have so far? We can run it through the main computer and see if it spits out any new information!"

"Later," Shiro said firmly, and both Matt and Pidge looked at him. "It's been a long day for everyone and we're not out of danger yet. Maybe we should get some rest while there's a little bit of time to breathe?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Allura said. "Eat. Rest. And be prepared to scramble if the alerts go off." She looked over to Coran, and the other Alteans. "If you two would like to join Coran and I," she said. "I feel like we've much to discuss."

 

* * *

 

Matt sat at the long table beside Pidge, and stared at the plate full of goo. "You ever just miss pizza?" he asked with a sigh.

"Every day," Lance said. "And cheeseburgers." He put his chin in his hand wistfully. "Nice, juicy double cheeseburger with avocado and bacon and extra onions-"

"And huge steak fries," Pidge said. " _Smothered_ in cheese."

"Glad to hear you're all so fond of my cooking," Hunk said.

"This is the tastiest goo I've ever had," Matt offered. "Rian burns it."

"You can _burn goo?"_ Lance said in amazement and horror. He looked at his spoon full of the stuff. "I ... kind of want to witness this."

"How did you even end up with Alteans?" Shiro asked, finally, and Matt looked down at his plate.

"When I ... escaped," he said. "I'm really not sure so much that I _escaped_ as they let me escape, you know?" He looked up at Shiro, and Shiro nodded his head once and there was a moment of something there between them that the others couldn't quite understand. "The shuttle I hotwired, its engines blew and knocked me out of warp somewhere off the star charts. I had no communications, no lightspeed engine ..." he laughed a little sadly. "I was absolutely certain I was going to die alone in space."

Pidge put down her utensils and she watched Matt silently, the lights in the dining hall reflecting off her glasses. "But then, two days later when I'd just started trying to pry up the floor boards this patchwork craft hails me on a local frequency, and it was a crew of Alteans on a junk-gathering mission. They saved me." He shrugged a little and smiled. "They nursed me back to health, told me about this legendary weapon that could be used to fight the Empire, and after a while a few of us got together and formed a recon wing despite the elder's disapproval. And here we are now."

He was quiet for a moment and the silence stretched, then Matt leaned forward, picking up his utensil and pointing it at Shiro. "How did _you_ escape? And what happened to your hair? And your _arm?_ "

Shiro opened and closed his hand self-consciously. "Well," he said slowly. "Here's the thing: my memory's spotty, at best..."

Movement to his left caught Lance's attention, as Keith stood suddenly, and carried his still mostly-full plate toward the kitchen. Hunk, Pidge and Matt were all focused on Shiro, and Lance glanced around all of them before standing as well. "Good meal," Lance said absently to Hunk, who nodded and was paying more attention to the conversation going on between Matt and Shiro than anything else.

 

* * *

 

 

Keith had left his plate on the counter and fled already; the mice were feasting on the leftover food. Far be it from Lance to disturb their meal, although three of them scattered when he drew close and watched him suspiciously from the far end of the counter, while the fourth continued to feast obliviously away. He dropped his plate into the space-dishwasher (he couldn't believe that they hadn't progressed past a DISHWASHER, this was an alien spaceship!!) and leaned out the open door to the hall. Keith had _bolted,_ he was nowhere in sight.

Lance returned to his room, and as he touched the wall plate that allowed him access he hesitated. What if Keith wanted to be alone? A _lot_ had gone down. The door whisked aside anyway, and the room that had become _their_ room and not just Lance's was dark and silent. He stood in the doorway for a moment and wondered at what point a small room on a castle-ship became _home_ , then looked back down the corridor.

Keith's room was not all that far from Lance's. He walked over to it and touched his hand to the wall plate, curious — and it wasn't locked, the door opened and Keith started, lifting his head in surprise. He, like Lance, was still wearing their outfits from Eaphus, although Keith had managed to get both sandals off and they lay in a heap across the small room.

"What, not sleeping with your shoes on today?" Lance asked, and Keith folded his arms and looked away silently. "You should go," Keith said, and Lance rolled his eyes and stepped into the room instead, letting the doors close behind him.

"Are we really doing this?" Lance asked.

That made Keith look at him, and Lance gestured with both his hands, at Keith's room. "You take over my room when it's convenient for you, but when you want to play sulking emo martyr you go hide in your room?" Lance put his hands on his hips and cocked his head, and Keith's face had contorted in an angry expression that after a moment faded into something resigned.

"Lance, go away," Keith said, and pulled his legs up onto his bed.

"No," Lance said. "What the hell is the _matter_ with you?"

"Shiro hates me," Keith said. He rested his hands on his ankles, and stared at them there. "Just like everyone else will once they know. I don't know why _you_ don't, but you're a moron and that's probably the reason."

"Well, they're all gonna be _upset_ , yes," Lance said. "Realistically. Hell, I'm pissed at you too, but I don't _hate_ you because, contrary to your brilliant opinion, I'm _not an idiot._ " He took a step forward and closer to the bed and Keith's head jerked up. "I don't think anyone _hates_ you, not even Shiro." Lance flopped onto the mattress beside Keith, arms still crossed. "This isn't like you at all, Keith," he said.

"You don't know me," Keith said softly.

"Well, clearly not," Lance said. "Not if you're Galran. Doesn't mean I don't _want_ to, though." He looked over at Keith studiously. "Can you do it here? The purple thing."

"No," Keith said.

"No you _can't,_ or no you don't _want_ to?"

"Doesn't matter. No."

"C'mon, show me," Lance said. "I only got to see you when you were practically suffocating, that's a little traumatizing." Keith looked away, and Lance leaned into his shoulder. "C'monnnnn," he wheedled. "Please, please pleeeeeease...."

"You are so _annoying_ ," Keith snapped, and shook his head violently. " _Fine._ Don't say I didn't warn you." Lance sat up as Keith's form seemed to change, right before his eyes. His ears seemed to grow back out of his hair, thick and purple-furred, and his eyes were nearly solid gold, he couldn't make out the irises against the innate glow.

"Whoa," Lance said, and Keith turned his face away. "Hey, no-" Lance's hand on his jaw made them both jump, because despite the way he looked Lance still wasn't expecting the soft, thick fur that covered his face. "Let me look, Keith."

Keith kept his eyes downturned as Lance studied him thoughtfully. "Can you stay like this?" he asked, and Keith shook his head as much he could with Lance holding his chin.

"Not long," he said quietly. "I have to focus on it, to stay in this form." He was still staring down, at Lance's brown legs against the bed, the short blue tunic complimenting his skin tone. "They kept me like this," he said softly. "The druids did."

Lance made a small, angry noise at that and Keith's eyes flickered up to his, strange and alien. Then Lance leaned in close and, softly, kissed him.

Keith pulled away immediately, putting one hand on Lance's chest, eyes wide. "Wh- _what-!"_ he yelped, form blurring and going back to human, like the shimmer of heat against the pavement. "What the _hell,_ Lance-!?"

Lance touched his fingers to his lips and raised an eyebrow. "Still tastes like Keith to me," he said with a small smirk, and Keith went pink.

  



	71. Chapter 71

"You might be comfortable going to sleep caked in two days worth of crud," Lance said, as Keith flopped onto his back on the bed. "But I'm from civilization, and I'm going to go take a shower."

"You're hardly even dirty," Keith said. "I can barely smell you."

Lance stared at Keith, mortified. "I'm not in heat, _you're_ not in heat, you shouldn't be able to smell me at _all."_

Keith shrugged with one shoulder, leaning back on his arm as he propped himself up. "It's not like you smell bad," he offered, but that didn't placate Lance in the slightest.

"I'll take two showers," Lance mumbled to himself, hauling to his feet. He stared down at Keith. "You should shower too," he said, and Keith shook his head.

"What if an alert goes out while we're in the shower?" Keith said. "We'd have to scramble."

"What if an alert happens while we're sleeping?" Lance retorted. "It's the same thing. Besides, nothing will top the alarm going off when we were having sex." Keith didn't turn quite as pink as Lance expected, although he did smile a little, which was more important than the whole blushing thing, anyway.

"Go take your shower," Keith said. "Then ... come back here?" It was a request that made Lance pause, then smile at Keith.

"Not a fucking chance," he said, still smiling. Keith's face twisted, a delayed confusion crossing his features. He hadn't expected a rebuff like _that._ "I'm not taking my hot clean self and getting into your dirty sheets," Lance said. "I'm going back to _my_ nice, clean sheets." Keith scowled at him, and Lance winked, holding up one finger to his mouth. "Which, perhaps you can join me there?"

"Perhaps you can choke on my dick," Keith muttered.

"All in good time," Lance said, and bounced out the door.

 

* * *

 

The showers were thankfully empty. Lance stood under the hot spray and closed his eyes, kept them closed as the water sluiced over him. The showers were where he went to think, something about the running water, the steam in the air, the scent of it — it all calmed his mind somehow, allowed him process, and let him put everything that had happened over the last week in some semblance of order.

His face upturned to the water flow, Lance pushed his hand back through his hair. The image of Keith with soft purple fur and vivid yellow eyes lingered. It sent a small shiver down his spine, he wasn't certain if it was revulsion or fascination but he better hurry up and categorize it quick, because it wasn't fair to Keith to leave him hanging like that.

Just another bump in the road that was Lance's attempt at a relationship. He really should know better, by now.

He took a step back from the spray and wiped his hand over his face, opening his eyes. Then he started, surprised, as he realized that he was no longer alone.

Shiro stood behind the divider between the two shower stalls, both of his arms hooked over the top of it and watching Lance with some fascination. "Shiro," Lance said, mildly scandalized but without any way to cover up so he cupped a hand over himself in some small paroxysm of modesty. "How long have _you_ been there?"

"Long enough," Shiro said, clearly amused at Lance's attempt to cover up. "You were pretty intent on something, mind if I asked what it was?"

"It's a secret," Lance said, and put his back to the water. "I thought you were gonna stay up all night catching up with your buddy." He didn't mean the words to have a bitter edge to them, although he could taste its flavor now that they were out of his mouth.

"I thought Matt and Pidge could use some alone time," Shiro said. He brushed his right hand back through that short forelock of hair, and then sighed deeply. "How's Keith?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Lance asked, and Shiro winced, dropping his hand back over the lip of the divider. "Or did you say something you can't take back?"

"I didn't-" Shiro started to say, then stopped and sighed again. "I'll talk to him in the morning," he said finally. "Once everyone's had some rest. That'll help, I think."

"Yeah," Lance said. He hadn't moved from where he stood, water pounding against his back, hand cupped over himself, as if Shiro hadn't already seen him naked before. There was a strange pull in his body right now, and it was taking a lot of willpower to stay put.

Shiro rested his cheek on his arms, still draped over the divider. He was staring at Lance unabashedly, and Lance felt his cheeks color in. "Why are you staring at me like that?" Lance said finally, and Shiro reacted to his words, lifting his head again and blinking owlishly.

"Because I like looking at you," Shiro said, and Lance went from blushing to beet red in just as many syllables. He held out his hand, his left one, and Lance moved toward him without thinking about it, stepping into his range, his space .... and then relaxing against the pressure of Shiro flattening his hand on Lance's back, urging him gently and firmly to cross that final distance, pressing against the divider and tilting his head and letting Shiro kiss him.

Kissing Shiro was intoxicating in its own right. Lance's hand found Shiro's skin warm and dry, he hadn't turned on the shower in his stall yet; and Lance brought up his other hand to hold Shiro's head still, to frame his face.

When they parted, finally, Lance was breathing in small, short pants, his mouth tingling. "Shiro," he said, dazed.

Shiro carefully ran his fingers up the bumps of Lance's spine. "I want to suck you," Shiro said, and Lance pulled back just a bit. He knew he could break the grip of Shiro's hands with a little effort, but despite the hitch in his throat Lance _wanted_ that. Shiro tilted his head in toward Lance and Lance twisted a little, allowed Shiro access to kiss his neck. "You smell like Keith," Shiro murmured, but didn't stop kissing him.

"I know," Lance said, pressing his weight into the divider now.

"Can I?" Shiro asked, barely lifting his mouth. "I want to taste you again, Lance..."

Lance whimpered and couldn't deny him.

 

* * *

 

 

Shiro didn't bother to turn off the water. Lance had half a thought about water conservation, then another partial thought about the recirculation system in the ship, and then Shiro's tongue was doing something completely obscene and the thoughts scattered like starlight through cracked glass.

He came in Shiro's mouth, hot and sticky and watched bewildered as Shiro swallowed it all down and then licked his fingers clean. They were in the _showers_ , he didn't have to do that! Shiro's smirk was wicked and disarming and Lance was lost in it. "More?" he asked breathlessly, Shiro's hand on his dick still, and watched as Shiro's eyes traveled up his body and settled on his face.

"Only if you want to," Shiro said, stroking him slowly. Lance shuddered at the way Shiro's touch lit up all his nerves and he leaned back against the divider, barely able to stay upright.

Lance covered his mouth with one hand and grinned, shakily. "Yeah,” he said with no hesitation. “I _definitely_ want to."

  



	72. Chapter 72

Lance's back slammed into the smooth, slick white wall of the shower stall. A groan slipped out somewhere between his panting breaths but Shiro didn't really notice it, one hand on Lance's thigh and the other cupping the hard, flat plane of his ass. Lance's heel was digging uncomfortably into the back of Shiro's thigh, and the spray of water from the shower head made things even more slippery than they would have been otherwise.

He was more focused on Lance, though — or more specifically, the way Lance felt around him, slick and hot and tight, his body shuddering as Shiro shifted them together. "You can't put the knot in," Lance gasped as Shiro slid deeper in, pressing him open. Lance's eyes were closed, arms looped over Shiro's shoulders, his head bowed forward. "You _can't-_ "

"You took it before," Shiro shifted his right hand further up Lance's thigh, getting under it, adjusting the angle. Lance gasped and his fingers clawed into Shiro's shoulder blades, doing enough damage that the water pouring over him started to sting a little.

"Not in heat," Lance managed, and Shiro kissed his temple, caught Lance's ear with his teeth and thrust again. With Lance's back pressed to the wall helping to hold some of his weight, Shiro was able to move his right hand to Lance's cock. Watching Lance get taken to near-incoherence by a few tight strokes was absolutely satisfying, and Shiro smirked, tilting himself forward and completely pinning Lance to the wall with his body weight. Lance squirmed and moaned and as Shiro scraped his teeth up Lance's neck and, finally, came apart under his hands and on his cock.

He went limp against Shiro, panting loudly. " _Deep_ ," he said, hooking his chin over Shiro's shoulder and letting out a low contented noise. Shiro knew he was in deep, and started moving his hips again in short, shallow thrusts. He was beginning to lose himself in this a little, the warmth of the water, the heat of Lance's core, his skin slick and soft ... "Fuck, _Shiro,_ c'mon-"

It was a herculean effort to keep from plunging in so deep that he would knot Lance and he almost didn't manage it. Lance had lost his words again but that was okay because Shiro wasn't thinking in words any longer too, just impulses. There was nothing but heat and tight and skin and wet and when he pushed over that edge and spilled himself inside, he was so far gone that he didn't even notice what he moaned into the hollow of Lance's neck.

" _Keith._ "

 

* * *

 

Hunk sat on the short flight of stairs on the bridge and watched the forward view screen. He could have moved himself to one of the command chairs, but that just didn't feel right to him, so he situated himself on the stairs and kept his hands around the warm cup of something that Coran had called caf when Hunk caught him making it earlier, for the Alteans.

He didn't ask what it was, but it wasn't nunavill so _that_ was something.

The viewscreen showed the landscape of the moon that they'd landed on; not nearly as large as the populated moon they had spent the last few days on. This moon was a dusty, featureless wasteland without atmosphere so there was nothing to refract the starlight or the distant, unyielding light of the system's sun. He couldn't pick out where the populated moon was from their vantage point, nor see the Galran frigate as it orbited the gas giant, so it was probably futile to sit here and watch, but he was too keyed up to sleep and he'd already cleaned up the kitchen once.

He'd failed his paladin test. Well, he hadn't even _taken_ it, but he was figuring that was as good as a failure, because Lance and Keith and Pidge had all done so, and Lance had reported that the Sky Temple wasn't even _there_ any more so Shiro couldn't either. Hunk sighed and wiggled his toes and looked down into the mug of caf.

The doors to the bridge opened and Hunk looked up. He hadn't figured on anyone else coming to the bridge unless an alarm was tripped, but he didn't move, only watched as the Altean Ilianya stepped out of the lift and looked around.

She was no longer wearing the plain black flight suit but instead a uniform in muted colors. It was similar in cut to what Coran wore, not a dress, and she had draped her plaited golden hair over her shoulder like the braiding on uniform. Hunk stayed absolutely still and watched as after a moment's indecision she walked to the main control station and hovered her hand above it, which woke the computer and displayed the navigation boards in the air.

"Computer," Ilianya said, and then hesitated. "Show me Altea," she said finally, softly.

There was a moment of processing, and then, abruptly, the air around her was filled with thousands upon thousands of images of a planet that no longer existed. Hunk stood, slowly, and watched as she looked around herself and, just for a moment, looked completely lost.

"Do you miss it?" Hunk asked, and Ilianya ... did not jump, so much, but her hand jerked away from the navigation board. The pictures did not vanish, though, hanging in the air around her completely, translucent and still bright.

"How can I miss something I never saw?" she asked, not looking at Hunk, exactly. She was looking at still pictures of crowds of people, of cities and plains and craggy mountains. She reached out a hand to touch one of the pictures, full of wildlife that looked canine in nature. "I was born long after the planet breathed its last. I have no connection to it but blood, and yet..." she put her hand on the navigation board again, this time to dismiss the pictures. Then she actually seemed to _see_ Hunk, and her expression tightened and closed off, leaving her last thought dangling, unsaid.

"So I take it you're not ten thousand years old then," Hunk said, but Ilianya said nothing else. He cleared his throat a little, and gathered himself. "Look, I may not understand what it's like to lose your entire planet, but I do know what it's like to not know your place in the universe." He shrugged a little. "I might not ever get to see my planet again. And it's really ... _really_ tough. But if I can keep my home from suffering the same fate as other planets at the hands of the Galra, it might be worth it."

"You were willing to give up the Yellow Lion," Ilianya said. There was an undercurrent of derision in her voice.

"I want the best person for the job to pilot Yellow," he said. "If that's me, then I'll do it. If it's someone else... well." He shrugged again. "You're from the race that created it, I thought maybe you're supposed to have it. I've been wrong plenty of times before."

She stared at him, then looked away. "I'm not full-blooded Altean," she said after a long moment. "There aren't any full-bloods left any more. Well," she amended. "The princess and her servant are. And a few of the colony elders. But most are only part, and that may not make me any more qualified to pilot the Yellow Lion. She choses her pilot, after all."

"See, that's what Allura said too, but then she kinda divvied up the lions between all of us," Hunk said with a frown. "I mean, I guess she _does_ speak on behalf of the lions since they're tied in to her life force, but it's still kinda weird...." He realized Ilianya was staring and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Anyway, if you're thirsty, Coran's made up a bunch of caf," he gestured with his free hand to the mug he still held in his other hand. "I can get you some, if you'd like...?"

When he looked back up at Ilianya, her expression had barely changed, but there was the slightest uptick of what could possibly be the start of a smile. "I should show you how to brew some proper caf," she said. "Not the watered-down swill the princess's attendant made."

Hunk felt a little ill when he looked into his mug; he'd thought the drink strong to begin with. " _This_ is watered-down!?"

 

* * *

 

"You know, if you wanted to fuck Keith, you should just go fuck Keith," Lance's voice hadn't quite gone sideways on him yet but it was threatening to, and how he was managing to keep from sounding, well, hysterical was a fairly impressive feat of suppression.

Shiro was barely an arm's length away. He sat on the tile in the stall, the showerhead having been knocked askew so it ran down and over the divider and not directly in his face. " _Lance_ ," he said, insistent and apologetic all in the same tone of voice but Lance wasn't exactly hearing it. "That wasn't what I meant at all..."

"No, you can just have your cock all up in me and be putting Keith's face on the entire thing," Lance said, crossing one arm over his bare chest. "Would you like me to photocopy a polaroid of him so you can tape it to the back of my head!?"

"You're being ridiculous," Shiro said.

" _I don't care_ ," Lance said, very loudly. His voice echoed in the showers, and that, if nothing else, seemed to calm him for the moment. He took a deep breath and then shifted his weight. Sticky white fluid had been leaking out of his ass for a while now, slipping into the puddles of water on the floor and disappearing down the drain. He inhaled raggedly a moment, but this was a different noise than before, and Shiro didn't really know how to categorize it.

"Just go," Lance said finally. "Go fucking see Keith, tell him you still love him, fuck him, whatever." He kept his back to the wall. "If you're going to fuck me, I want you to be _thinking_ about _me_."

"Lance, I'm sorry," Shiro said, and Lance said, _"go._ "

  



	73. Chapter 73

Keith laid on top of the tucked-in covers on his bunk, arm draped over his eyes. He'd changed out of the tunic, shoved it into the chute that he'd determined led to either laundry, or an incinerator, and flopped onto his bed intent on attempting sleep, or something. He'd thought about across and down the hall, the bed that smelled like Lance, or even further down, the bed that smelled like _Shiro_ , but was too tired to do anything more than think. It had been a draining few days.

So, sleep.

He rolled onto his side and pillowed his head on his arm. Sleep was not coming easy, even as tired as he was. It didn't help he hadn't turned down the lights. Keith stared across the sparsely-furnished room at a curved, paneled white wall — then held out his hand toward it. Pale, unmarred, _human._ How long had it been since he'd even thought of himself as anything other than that?

_Freak. Half-breed._

_Monster._

The knock startled him more than he cared to admit, and Keith flung himself upright. He slid off the bed and walked to the door, touching the internal pad. "I thought you said you weren't coming back," he said, half irritated, expecting Lance's smartass response before the door even finished sliding open.

Keith did not expect for Shiro to be standing outside his door.

There was a moment of profound silence. Shiro wasn't looking directly at him, his gaze downturned. He was only wearing exercise pants, and his arms were folded. "Shiro...?" Keith said carefully, measured.

"Can we talk?" Shiro said after another long moment of silence. He had raised his eye finally to meet Keith's, and there was no masking the exhaustion there. It lined his eyes and pulled at his posture, taking him from a soldier and a leader to something far older, and worn down. "Please," he added, as Keith remained silent.

Keith stepped aside and let Shiro into his room. When the door slid shut behind them both, Shiro just ... stopped. He stood there, in the center of the room, his back to Keith and he didn't move again until Keith's hand touched the back of his arm. Shiro's skin was damp, his short hair spiked with the remnants of a shower.

"Shiro," Keith said softly. "I'm sorry."

His words made Shiro's entire body jerk. He whirled on his heel and stared at Keith, then backed up until his legs hit the edge of Keith's bunk and he sat down hard, leaving Keith standing with one hand still in the air.

Keith was undeterred. He dropped his hand to his side and curled it into a loose fist. He would force himself to say these words, and that would be that. If it affected the team, he'd leave. It was that simple. " _Shiro_ ," Keith said his name for the third time, and his eyes finally met Keith's again. "Maybe we shouldn't-"

" _Don't_." Shiro's voice actually seemed to crack around the word, and the strangled way he spoke it actually made Keith stop. He looked so tired, and Shiro tilted forward where he sat on the edge of the bed, rested his elbow on his knee and put his face in one hand. "I think I just lost Lance, and I can't-" his voice did that weird crack again, "I can't lose you _too._ "

Keith sat down on the bed beside Shiro, tentatively. He didn't look over at Shiro, not yet. "You didn't lose me," he said. "If anything I was afraid I'd lost _you_ , because..." he touched one hand to his throat, the echo of a flurry of violence, here and gone in an instant. "Because of what I am."

There was another long stretch of silence, punctuated only by heavy breaths. Shiro's forehead still rested in his hand. "I'm sorry," Keith said again, and this time looked over to Shiro. "I'm sorry for lying about who I am."

Shiro lifted his head, slowly. He didn't look to Keith just yet. "You didn't lie," he said finally.

"I didn't tell you," he said, and looked at his hands.

"It's not like you could've at the Garrison," Shiro's breathing didn't sound so loud or irregular any longer, and Keith exhaled slowly. "And there's not really any good time to just announce something like that." Shiro rubbed his hand over the bottom part of his face and sighed deeply. "I really fucked up with Lance, I think," he said.

It took a few moments to process the second half of his statement, because Keith was too hung up on the first. _Shiro didn't hate him?_ That wasn't right, that _couldn't_ be right, and he pushed it aside after circling it and looked at Shiro again. "What happened with Lance?"

 

* * *

 

"You retrofitted the entire cockpit?" Pidge said, sitting in the open cockpit of the Galra fighter. "This all looks Galran to me." The entire console was lit in a faint purple glow, alien figures hovering above the virtual navigation system. "It looks _very_ Galran."

"That's the point." Matt was leaning against the side of the cockpit, one arm hooked over the side. He waved his hand over one of the floating displays, and with a ripple effect the control system turned into a familiar teal, although the base still remained black and purple. "It's easy enough to do an overlay for video communications," Matt said. "Remember, full black helmets? They're easy to map under a protocol. It's the background that sells things."

Pidge let out an impressed noise. "So you vid-chat with Galrans and they assume you're an elite fighter wing? And then you bullshit your way right through, that's _amazing._ " She put her hand on the side of the cockpit and leaned forward. "I bet you do a mean impersonation."

Matt clicked his tongue, then straightened a little. "Vrepit _sa!_ " he said, and Pidge actually laughed.

"Amazing."

"Yeah," Matt said. "Kinda interesting the things one picks up in captivity." He leaned forward and waved his hand over the display again, changing it back to purple.

"Matt," Pidge said. He shook his head and smiled at her.

"That's behind me now," he said. "And Shiro, too."

"Do you think Dad's still alive?" she asked, and Matt didn't even hesitate. He nodded his head sharply.

"I'm certain of it. He's tough, Kat, tougher than us. I just wish we had better resources to try to find him, and the other prisoners." He pushed away from the edge of the cockpit, balanced on a small ladder. "Well, maybe _not_ as tough as his kid the paladin," Matt said in a teasing tone, as Pidge stood in the cockpit.

She seemed to take his words in a stride. "Want to see her?" she said. "Green?"

"Your lion is named Green?" Matt said.

"Well of course she is, she's the Green Lion," Pidge retorted. "I'm the Green Paladin and she's the Green Lion. That's the way it works." She climbed out of the cockpit carefully.

"Yeah," Matt said. "I suppose it is, huh?"

 

* * *

 

Lance sat in the common area. The ship had clicked over to its night cycle and dimmed the lights, not beyond the ability to see but it left him sitting in partial darkness. Good. Just like his mood. He stuck out his legs and crossed them at the ankle, then folded his arms tight over his chest, and closed his eyes.

Hunk wasn't in his room. Lance had knocked futilely for a good two minutes and got no response, so he was either so deeply asleep that he didn't hear the knock, or he wasn't in his room at all. Lance had looked at the doorway right down from Hunk's, but he didn't cross the hallway, or hesitate in front of it, nor knock on it. He left, and headed for the training room.

Lance wasn't the sort of person who voluntarily exercised, even for training drills. However, he wanted to find a place that no one would find him to let him just think and process things. The training room turned out to be a bust because the young, fractious Altean that drove him up the wall was in there doing kata, and Lance Did Not Need That At All. So he found the common room dim and empty and settled down on the couch.

This was doing absolutely nothing for his mood, so he let out a loud sigh and opened his eyes again.

Lying on the couch, shuffled back together, was the deck of cards he and Hunk had been playing with days earlier. Lance eyed the deck, and after a moment picked up the card and started shuffling them.

Shiro loved Keith. Lance _knew_ that, he didn't have an excuse for getting as angry as he did, but it still simmered under the surface and he hated it. He flipped through the cards a few times, shuffled them again, and then set them back on the couch cushion. He owed Shiro an apology, if nothing else.

"Lance?"

Shiro's voice caught him off guard, and he froze in place. There was a heartbeat of fear in him, but that passed faster, because he wasn't _afraid_ of Shiro, and he sat up straight and put his hands on the edge of the couch, between his legs, and tilted forward. It took him longer than he expected to find his voice again, but when he did, he called simply, "in here."

The lights didn't increase when Shiro slapped the wall panel as he entered the room; to both of their surprise one of the walls actually shimmered and went translucent, showing the some of the side of the castle-ship and most importantly, the starfield beyond. "Whoa," Lance said, eyes torn from Shiro's form to the new vantage point outside the castle. "Now _that_ is trippy, we're sideways."

"The internal gravity of the ship is oriented to flight mode," Shiro said, as if Lance hadn't been present for Allura's deeply boring explanation on the difference between castle mode and ship mode.

"Yeah," Lance said. He nodded his head a little, then looked over to Shiro who was now fully dressed; or at least wearing a tee shirt that was probably a few sizes too small and his exercise pants. Lance wasn't going to stare because he knew what was under that tee shirt, but man it did cling to Shiro in very attractive ways. Shiro was doing his level best not to look at him, so it was up to Lance to take the initiative. "Shiro, I'm sorry," Lance said. "I overreacted."

_That_ , if nothing else, got a reaction. He held out his finger as Shiro jerked his head up and stared at Lance. "I'm not gonna repeat it," Lance said. "I don't want anyone on this ship to get a recording of that, I have an image to maintain-"

"Why are _you_ sorry?" Shiro asked, bewildered. He was still standing a decent ways away, so Lance couldn't quite read his facial expression in the dim light of the common room. "I'm the one who crossed a line..."

"You didn't," Lance had been thinking about it for the past hour. "You never did anything I said not to, and we were _both_ thinking about Keith, we had just been talking about him. You just opened your mouth about it." Lance rubbed his hand over his face and sighed.

Shiro walked over to the couch and, after a moment, sat down next to Lance. "I'm still going to apologize," he said. "I'm ... not used to this."

"No kidding," Lance said, but there was a laugh at the edge of his tone. He was looking out at the starfield beyond, now, and to Shiro's surprise, leaned into him. "This relationships scares me a little," he said finally.

"Do you want out?" Shiro asked.

Lance shook his head. "No. It's just ..." he waved his hand in the air. "It's a _lot_."

"It is a lot," Shiro agreed. "And it is scary. It scares me too."

"Really?" Lance pulled back a little and stared at Shiro, looking for the lie in his words. " _You're_ scared." It was less a question than a statement.

Shiro very tenderly rested his hand on the back of Lance's neck. "It's my first time with all this," he said, tracing his fingers over the scarring flesh there. "I'm not afraid of fighting the Galra, or flying Voltron, or anything like that. But this? This _petrifies_ me. I keep expecting you, or Keith to look at me and see what _I_ really am."

"A hero," Lance said, and leaned into his shoulder again.

"A monster," Shiro said, his eyes on his prosthetic hand.

"You are the _furthest_ thing from a monster," Lance said. "Same with Keith. So what if he can turn purple? I bet that makes his dick wicked different, that'll be fun. But you're still _Shiro_ and he's still _Keith."_

_"Hey!"_ Keith's voice was faint and a little irritated. Lance leaned back on the couch and looked toward the entrance.

"Are you _eavesdropping?_ " Lance yelled. "You asshole!"

Keith popped his head through the door. "I wanted to make sure that you weren't crying your eyes out," he said.

"That's it, I'm going to punch him," Lance said, and started to get up, but Shiro's arm shot out and wrapped around his waist, keeping him seated. "Ah, _c'mon_ ," he said.

"This is gonna take a lot of work," Shiro said finally. "Are you sure you want to keep doing this?"

Lance looked at Shiro, and then over to Keith who was now standing awkwardly in front of the door. "Well, _yeah_ ," he said. "Of course I do." Lance watched Keith walk around the long way and climb down onto the couch, sitting down on Lance's other side. He looked over at Keith, and then back to Shiro. "We just gotta keep trying, right?"

"Right," Shiro agreed, and Keith nodded. Lance looked back to Keith, who got a strange expression on his face based on the look Lance was giving him.

"...what?" he asked Lance.

"I wanna see your furry dick," Lance said, and Shiro gave a small chuckle as Keith just looked scandalized.

"Absolutely _not."_

  



	74. Chapter 74

Despite his best efforts at staying asleep, Keith cracked open his eyes when he felt Lance slip out of the bunk. His eyes were gummy, so he rubbed one palm against his eye socket and propped himself up in the bed, squinting in the dim light of his room. Lance was moving quietly; he had pulled open one of the wall panels and was frowning because all the clothes held within were fitted for Keith, not him. "...Lance?" Keith asked, and punctuated his question with a yawn.

Since the overhead light wasn't on, the closet panel had a soft inner glow as well, the same soft teal the Alteans seemed to favor as mood lighting. Lance started, and shoved the panel closed, cutting off the additional glow and effectively masking his expression from Keith, who had finally focused on him. "Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to wake you." He didn't move away from the wall, his tone quiet. "Is Shiro still asleep?"

Shiro, at Keith's back, was tucked tight between him and the wall. His breathing hadn't changed, and while he had gone to sleep with one arm curled securely around Keith's waist, at some point he had tucked it against his body, between them. Keith nodded his head and then wondered if Lance could see it. "He's still asleep."

"Good," Lance said. "I'm going ... for a run. You can go back to sleep."

Keith yawned again, then shifted under the covers. "I'll come with you," he said, and sat all the way up.

"You don't have to," Lance said, surprised. "It's still early, go back to sleep."

Keith stretched his arms over his head to crack his back, and then started to slide out from under the covers. "A run like a great way to clear my head," he said. "Were you gonna use the track in the training room?"

Lance was standing where he had stopped, against the wall, his hands hanging uselessly at his sides. After a long moment he sighed, and folded his arms. "I'm not going for a run," he said. "I don't know why I even said that."

Keith, sitting on the side of the bed, cocked his head and squinted at Lance. Either he wasn't awake enough to really follow, or Lance wasn't making much sense to him. "...what?" he said finally.

"It doesn't matter," Lance said. He touched the wall panel again and yanked out one of Keith's black tee shirts, pulling it on over his head in a hurried motion. "I'll see you at breakfast." It was impossible to slam the door to his quarters, given the nature of the sliding doors, but it wasn't hard to imagine the door slam as it swished closed behind Lance. Keith blinked a few times, still sitting on the edge of the mattress, and entirely unsure of what just happened.

He looked over his shoulder at Shiro, sleeping on his side and prosthetic hand curled against his face, the other tucked against his chest, and a frown creased his face as he looked back to the door.

 

* * *

 

By the time he'd put on pants and a tee shirt himself, Lance was nowhere to be found. Keith was resolved not to be worried, because who knew what was bothering Lance — but something made him keep looking anyway. It _was_ early, when he read off the time on the chrono it was only a few hours since they'd all squeezed in to Keith's bunk to sleep. Had Lance even slept at all?

The ship was quiet now, everyone trying to catch some rest on the off-chance that the warning alarms would go off any moment. The galley was empty, the common area, the bridge ... the lights were on in the training room, which Keith found odd if Lance wasn't going to go for a run, so he stopped in the open doorway to see what was going on.

Lance was not in the training room, either, but it _was_ in use. The smaller, dark-haired Altean was fighting one of the gladiator bots with two short blades. He'd been at it for a while, judging by the half a dozen downed bots that littered the staging area. Keith stood in the open doorway and watched him fight, grudgingly impressed.

It took a little bit of time for him to bring down this bot on his own — he was clearly worn out. "Do you even _sleep_?" he called, and Rian whirled, both blades still in hand, still in a combative stance. He didn't relax his pose or change expression when he saw who was in the doorway, either.

"Galran," the Altean snarled.

"I have a name," Keith said, but didn't give it and did his level best to ignore the way that just the word dug under his skin. "Have you seen Lance come through here? Tall, thin, mop of brown hair, absolute smart-ass?" He had gestured with one hand Lance's height, and even from across the room saw the way that Rian tensed as if expecting an attack.

"You are a spy and a traitor," Rian said. Keith's eyes narrowed at him, he wasn't going to let this little shit get to him, Altean or not. "I do not know how you convinced the Red Lion to accept you, but I will expose your trickery and take her for myself." He shifted his position, both daggers held across his body, and he was tired enough that he was telegraphing his moves far in advance.

Keith said, somehow calmly, "I don't want to fight you." It was a lie and maybe not a very good one, but if he said it out loud he could kind of force himself to believe it.

"Too bad," Rian said, and ran at him.

Now, at this point Keith _could_ have done the smart thing, which would have been to deflect and not to engage, but this shitty little Altean had been after him since he popped out of the memory core and _hell_ Keith was not exactly a patient man. He stepped forward, bayard-turned-sword appearing in his hand without looking, and met the Altean's attack head-on.

 

* * *

 

Hunk was a pretty light sleeper, all things considered. He had to be — when bunking with Lance at the Garrison, he had discovered that Lance had the miraculous ability to sleep through just about anything; up to and including an air strike (or what Hunk was absolutely certain was one, instead of flight cadets buzzing the Garrison). So he learned to be a light sleeper, attuned to the slightest change in background noise and alarm clocks that might have been shoved under pillows or mattresses.

He wasn't certain what woke him this time, maybe it was the caffeinated content of the drink Ilya had taught him to make that was to blame, he had no idea but sleep was elusive so Hunk shuffled out of his room and down the corridor. It wasn't like there was television in space to entertain him, but maybe if he pulled up one of those detailed ship manifestos he and Pidge had been looking at a week or two ago the dryness of the text would put him out again.

Hunk had barely made it to the common room when he heard the commotion. Now more awake than not he headed down the corridor that led to the training room in time to see Keith get slammed back against the opposite wall of the corridor by the smaller Altean named Rian. Hunk blinked at this; while Keith really did take his training seriously, it was one thing to go at it with full weapons against the drones that could be repaired — it was another entirely to practice combat with someone who actually bled when stabbed.

Then Rian flipped one of the daggers in his hand and swiped at Keith, who turned just in time to avoid losing his eye. The tip of Rian's dagger did draw a thin line of blood up over his brow, which Keith promptly ignored and planted his foot straight away in the middle of Rian's chest, flinging him across the corridor with a kick. Rian's shoulder and back hit the doorway to the training room and he rolled with it, ducking back into the room and drawing Keith after him with a shout.

"Hey!" Hunk bellowed, charging down the hall. He caught the edge of the door himself and swung himself into the training room, in time to see Keith slam his bayard-sword down onto Rian's crossed blades; they were glaring at each other through the interlocked weapons. "What the _hell_ are you two doing?"

Rian was bleeding too, there were some shallow cuts on his exposed arms. He did not glance over at Hunk, but instead stared at Keith. "Show him your _real_ face," he said, and Keith yelled and shoved with his body weight, breaking the hold that Rian had and forcing them apart. He switched his sword from his right right to his left hand and used his right to smear the blood on his brow so that it didn't run into his eyes.

"This _is_ my real face," he growled.

"Stop it!" Hunk ordered, his voice authoritative and Keith glanced over at him. Rian however, did not, and charged forward again. Keith barely had time to deflect the first blow angled at him and while Rian's first dagger was knocked completely out of his hand, the second appeared, its point at Keith's throat.

" _Show him_ ," Rian hissed. Keith started to move and the point touched his throat for a split second.

"Keith!" Hunk yelled, and Keith held out the hand his bayard was not in, palm out, to Hunk. He didn't take his eyes off of Rian though, dark eyes that glittered with hatred.

"All right," Keith said, chest heaving. "All right."

Hunk _had_ to be asleep, or still dreaming, because as he watched, Keith ... _changed._ Oh, his hair was the same, but his skin turned purple, turned furry, and his eyes changed, and Hunk stared, and _stared._ "Dude," he said, while Rian still held the blade at Keith's throat. "You're a ... werewolf?"

  



	75. Chapter 75

Shiro woke to an empty bed. He laid on his side for a while, staring into the dimness of the quarters. This bed smelled richly of Keith, his scent was thick in the pillows and the blankets. Shiro buried his face half in the pillow and caught the barest trace of Lance's scent, and he could remember fading out into sleep, seeing the brown wisps of Lance's hair beside Keith's. Shiro smiled and stretched his arm across the empty bed, until the fingers of his hand dangled over the edge of the mattress. It was a hell of a time squeezing all three of them into one of these barely-full-size bunks, he'd have to talk to Allura about obtaining a larger bed. He had an inkling that Lance was probably a sprawler.

Shiro sat up and yawned and brushed his hair out of his eyes. The lights in the room came up when he sat up — he sat on the edge of the mattress and waited for his eyes to adjust, scratching under the tight tee shirt he'd worn to bed blearily. He had no idea how long he'd slept, his chrono was in his room, with the rest of his clothes. No slippers, either. Somewhere between awake and not he padded barefoot to the door and stuck his head out in the corridor.

It didn't count as a walk of shame if there was no sex the previous night.

Well, there _had_ been sex but not in Keith's room, at least. Shiro made it halfway down the corridor toward his room when he realized that he _was_ hearing something happening beyond the sleeping quarters and it sounded urgent. Without hesitation he bypassed his room and was in fact jogging when he made it to the corridor that held the entrance to the training room, where the worst of the commotion was occurring.

Keith was at the epicenter, ears flattened back and eyes wide and looking — well, not _nearly_ as freaked out as he had been in the memory core but definitely not anywhere on a linear scale of comfortable. He saw Shiro arrive and even the fact that Shiro visibly flinched at his visage didn't seem to deter Keith as he flung himself at Shiro and manged to eel around his body and plant Shiro between himself and everybody else.

'Everybody else' — Allura, Hunk, Coran, Ilianya and Rian, he didn't see Pidge nor Matt among them which was both good and bad, but there was a lot of arguing and raised voices and entire strings of dialogue composed of words he didn't understand. "Why do you look like that?" Shiro asked Keith, who was using him as a human shield, peeking out from behind his shoulder. He didn't know Keith to run from a fight, but if Keith had a tail ( _did_ he have a tail? Shiro wasn't certain and somehow it felt like a Lance thing to ask) it would be tucked firmly between his legs at the moment.

"You know why," Keith muttered.

"And _you_ know what I meant," Shiro said. He didn't have time to say or process more because Allura had turned from her argument/conversation/dressing down to see Shiro there and she lit up.

"Shiro did you _see_ ," she said, pointing at Keith behind Shiro as if he wasn't fully aware of the fact that his boyfriend turned into one of the species that had imprisoned and tortured him for a year. "Isn't it wonderful? Keith can infiltrate the Galra for us!"

" _Help_ me," Keith hissed, fingers curled into the back of the tee shirt Shiro wore, as if there was excess fabric for him to readily grip.

"Infiltrate? He's a _spy_ , he's infiltrated _us,_ " Rian yelled from behind Allura. Coran had one hand on Rian's should like a disapproving father, but that one hand was keeping the short Altean in place like it was a massive weight.

"Dude, there is no 'us'," Hunk said sharply. "You were trying to kill him!"

"He's-" Rian's retort was cut off by Ilianya's very sharp tone, in a language that Shiro had never actually heard before this. Rian flushed a dark color and responded rapidly as well, and Allura ignored them both, still turned to Shiro with a pleasant smile on her face that was masking a serious eye twitch.

"I am a little disappointed that you wouldn't trust us with this information, Keith," she said to the tips of Keith's ears, the only thing visible behind Shiro's shoulder at the moment.

"I think we're all disappointed," Shiro said, and felt Keith's hands tighten on his shirt, then the soft press of what was probably his forehead into Shiro's shoulder blade. "But it's done now, and it's all out in the open, and nothing's going to _change_." There was a firmness in his words that made Allura nod her head, her smile moving from strained to a hint of genuine.

"Of course nothing's going to change, the Red Lion chose its pilot, after all." Rian made a derisive noise from behind her, and Allura's eye twitch returned, but she did not look back.

"Voltron's paladins come from many different backgrounds," Coran said, gesturing grandly with one hand. "It doesn't matter their background as long as they are all working toward the same goal!"

"Exactly," Allura said. Now she did turn, so she could look over everyone present. "Keith is one of us and has been from the beginning, regardless of his current look. Can I consider this matter settled?"

Hunk raised his hand. "Is someone going to tell Pidge? I'm assuming Lance already knows," he added, giving Shiro a very pointed look.

"I'll tell her myself," Keith said. He mostly emerged from behind Shiro, but he was back to his normal self and Shiro felt the tenseness run out of his shoulders at the pale skin and normal eyes. It would take some getting used to, to see Keith in purple. "She deserves to hear it from me."

 

* * *

 

The Castle of Lions did contain a library, a small room with many of the now-familiar consoles used to access digitally archived information. Lance had never much been for libraries in school or at the Garrison, but it seemed lacking to call a room a library without rows of archived material stretching throughout the space. It didn't leave much room for fooling around between the stacks if the room consisted of nothing but computer terminals.

He sat at one of the stations for a while, the navigation prompt lit up, hovering above the white, tilted platform of the computer. He still couldn't make sense of Altean even if he recognized the symbols now, knew what to look for to identify the script, so he didn't even know where to start. Lance propped his elbow on the edge of the terminal and put his chin in his hand and stared at the prompt.

Lance couldn't stop thinking about the man in black, with the yellow eyes.

He couldn't remember his face now, just the suit, the short dark hair, and yellow eyes —his mind had tried to superimpose Keith's face on the man in his sleep and now that haunted him, Keith's face on a different frame. It seemed important, and while he could easily call up most of the detail of his time in the memory core, the fact that this man's _face_ was gone was really bothering him.

But, his lack of a grasp on the Altean language was a hindrance, and the last thing he wanted to do while trapped in a castle with sentient lion robots and actual freaking _aliens_ was sit and study a language. Chin still in hand, Lance poked one of the holographic prompts with a finger and said, "computer, search memory core."

"Searching," the system replied in a pleasant, if unfamiliar, female voice.

Lance sat straight up, both hands going to the desk itself to steady him. "You take voice commands?" he said, startled, but the computer system did not respond, displaying a status symbol that seemed universal for 'please wait.'

"Accessing documentation on search query: memory core," the computer said, then displayed several results, again all in that Altean script. Lance squinted at them, then hesitantly touched the top result, the only one with a small picture attached. The article expanded along with the picture, but he wasn't able to read it. He squinted at the picture though, this memory core looked nothing like the one they had sitting in the training room, OR the ones he had seen planet-side on the moon of Eaphus. It was much larger, and wired in to ancient computers. "Huh," Lance said, and squinted at the picture. "Looks old."

There were a bunch of aliens clustered around in the frame of the picture, species that Lance had never encountered. "Computer, send all results to the Blue Lion," he said finally. She would process the articles and put them into a language he could easily understand, thanks to her translation matrix.

"Transfer complete," the computer said pleasantly. "New request?"

Lance drummed his fingers on the computer's desktop for a moment. He looked back at the entrance to the library, as if he expected someone to come bursting in on him any moment, then he sighed and turned around. "Search Galra," he said. "Half-breeds."

"Searching," the system responded.

  



	76. Chapter 76

Lance almost turned around and walked right back out of the galley when he saw the shortest of the Alteans in the room, holding one of the goo nozzles delicately and peering into it like he was unsure of what it was used for. He hesitated before crossing the threshold, but Rian didn't seem to notice or care about his presence. "You hold down the trigger to dispense goo," Lance said helpfully.

"I am aware," Rian said, and turned his imperious gaze on Lance. "I know how nozzles wo-" He was cut off when he squeezed the trigger unconsciously, dispensing a solid stream a green goo directly to the side of his face. Lance couldn't contain his guffaw if he was paid to do so, and he leaned against the door frame and tried hard not to choke as Rian scrubbed one hand furiously over his face.

"You don't point the nozzle at your _face_ ," Lance managed, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes as Rian threw down the nozzle in disgust. The hose wound itself back to its dispensing position and Rian whirled and pointed his finger at Lance.

"That was _your_ fault," he said. "You distracted me!"

"Yeah, whatever," Lance wiped his eyes with his fingers and, still chuckling, crossed the room to where the drinks were stocked. He rifled around until he found one of the silver packets and stuck a straw in it, then kicked the door to the refrigerator shut, drink in hand. He realized Rian was staring at him still, and Lance stuck the straw in his mouth and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"How can you knowingly bed with a Galra?" Rian straight-up asked, and Lance inhaled liquid. "He is the enemy."

Lance held up his drink, one finger out as he cleared his windpipe. "That's none of your fucking business, thanks," he said, and coughed again. Once he was certain he was breathing air and not the ambiguously flavored drink he continued, "I'm getting _real_ tired of your hate-on for Keith. I'm the only person on this ship who gets to hate on Keith." Lance straightened and glared down at the Altean, who was noticeably shorter than he was.

"He is a spy," Rian said, and there was anger and hatred in his words again, so thick Lance could almost feel it in the air. "He is a spy and he will _betray_ you and when your friends and family are dead you'll only have yourself to blame." Rian was half-turned away, arms folded and not looking at Lance, which was his first mistake, as Lance crossed the galley in a few strides, drink thrown on the island and he hauled Rian into the air by the front of his shirt.

"Listen here you little _shit,_ " Lance snarled. "Keith is _my mate_ and anything you say about him applies to me, too. I want you to think on that _very carefully."_

Rian glared up at Lance, dragged to his tiptoes by Lance's hands in his uniform shirt. "He _will_ betray you," he said. "They always do." His hands went around Lance's wrists, squeezing, them and trying to get him to let go.

" _Lance_ ," Coran said from the doorway. "Put Rian down at once!"

Lance glared at Rian for a long second then twisted his head to look over at Coran. "I'm gonna put this little shit out the airlock, Coran."

"You most certainly are _not_ , paladin. Put him down." Coran's voice was firm, and Lance sighed and released Rian, who took a step back and straight into the island in the center of the room. Coran gave Lance a disapproving look, arms folded, then sighed. "Please excuse us, Master Rian," he said, and Rian gave Lance a derisive look and stormed from the galley. Lance watched him go, then swung around and looked at Coran.

"'Master' Rian?" he repeated.

"He is of the noble houses," Coran said quietly. "A lesser noble house, far distant cousins many times removed from our Princess, but still carries the blood of our royal line." Coran had a distant look on his face, and Lance recognized it right away and felt the same pang of homesickness ... but he was homesick for a place that still existed, outside of his memory.

"I'm not calling him prince anything," Lance said finally, and Coran shook his head.

"He's not a prince, just minor nobility." That said, he frowned at Lance. "Your behavior is unacceptable, though. They are guests in this castle."

" _My_ behavior?" Lance gestured with one arm toward the door. "He's a dick, Coran! Especially to Keith!" He glared at the empty door as if that would produce another copy of Rian especially for him to punch.

"Not everyone is comfortable with having the enemy on board," Coran said, and Lance's gaze swung from the door to Coran. "Not everyone has to be."

Lance stared at Coran, a little dumbstruck. "Coran," he said, and then he got angry again. Angrier, even. "He's _Keith_ , he hasn't changed at all from who he was a week ago or even a month ago! How can you say it like that, he's not _the enemy!"_

"Things aren't always as black and white as we want them to be," Coran said. He was looking at Lance evenly, almost a sadly.

The anger bubbled in his chest and tangled into a hard knot. Lance didn't say anything else, just grabbed his overturned drink from the island where it had laid on its side, leaking greenish juice atop the counter. Then he stormed from the galley, leaving Coran standing there, alone.

 

* * *

 

Shiro stood on the bridge, his arms folded as he looked at the map displayed over the forward viewscreen. "It's been almost a full day," he said, standing beside Allura, who was studying it as well. "They must not be looking for us, we aren't that well hidden."

There was a violet ring around Eaphus, showing the orbit of the Galran frigate. It had completed only two orbits of the massive gas giant in the time that the Castle's computer systems had been tracking it. "I agree," Allura said. Because of the length of time the computer had to capture information, they had a decent image of the frigate, if a little blurry from being captured against the bright colors behind it. "But that begs that question as to why it's in orbit around Eaphus, and what it's doing here, if it's goal is not to capture Voltron."

Shiro gestured with his left hand, moving the three-dimensional map and stepping away from Allura slightly. He had brought up the moon, and more specifically the waystation locked in tidal orbit around it. The space station was large enough that it could almost be a moon _to_ the moon, although it was more a flattened disc than an orb. The prisoner transport was docked along one side. "Gladiator matches must be going on," Shiro said, and while he felt he kept his voice neutral he felt Allura's eyes on him.

"We must do something," Allura said. "That many prisoners within our reach? We can't leave them in bondage." Shiro nodded his head absently, staring at the waystation. "You said you've been here before, Shiro — do you think you could guide through the waystation?"

Shiro wasn't so much looking at the map as he was staring through it, but Allura's question snapped him back to reality. He looked over at her, but now Allura was staring at the waystation again. "Perhaps this would be as good a place as any to see if Keith would be able to infiltrate-"

" _No_ ," Shiro said, with a vehemence that surprised him.

Allura looked over at Shiro neutrally. "His ability to blend in with the rest of the Galra is a benefit we cannot ignore," she said.

"He won't," the memory of the memory core, the way the two Galra had looked down at Keith, instantly recognizing him as a half-breed, it chilled Shiro to the bone. "If we send him over there alone, he'll die," he said. "They'll kill him, Allura."

"I didn't say that we'd send him alone," Allura said, and Shiro flinched before he could mask his response. He ran his left hand down his face, and then rested his elbow in the palm of his right hand, left hand cover his the lower part of his face.

Now composed, Shiro nodded toward the map. "What do you have in mind, Princess?"

Allura was watching Shiro closely. Her arms folded, she turned toward the map as well, and began to outline her idea.

  



	77. Chapter 77

Hunk was cleaning up the remains of an early lunch, scraping scraps into the rinse-off area and setting the dishes aside to scrub. For the most part everyone cleaned up after themselves but Hunk didn't mind the occasional kitchen duty, simply because it allowed him to focus on a simple, quiet task. It especially helped when he started to get overwhelmed at the world he found himself in.

"Does the ship not have programs to automate cleanup?" Ilianya's voice startled him a little and he dropped the dish he was scraping into the sink, where it clattered among the other dishware he had set aside.

"There's a dishwasher, if that's what you're asking," Hunk said, as he delicately picked up the tray and resumed scraping into the trash. "I like washing dishes sometimes, though. It's more fun when it's not a chore." Shiro's tray now cleared, Hunk dumped into into the warm, soapy water, then looked over at Ilianya, who was watching him with a puzzled expression. "Something wrong?"

"You, a paladin," she said, brow furrowed. "You cook, and you clean ... for fun?"

"Well ... yeah?" Hunk shrugged with one shoulder, the other fishing around in the water for the tray he just dumped. "I mean, for one it would be _completely_ rude to foist all of this off on Coran, he's got like a dozen things to do, and for two, his cooking is _atrocious._ " Hunk shuddered and then realized that Ilianya was still staring at him, so he backpedaled a little. "But, you know, maybe he's a gourmet to you Alteans, but I'm not sold on food that tastes like something scraped off the bottom of my shoe."

Ilianya stepped closer and leaned against the counter, folding her arms as she watched Hunk, side-long. Then she sighed, and shook her head. "The elders would be having a fit," she said, but she was smiling.

"Why?" Hunk rinsed off the tray and set it aside, then moved to the fork and single prong utensils. "Everyone's meant to pitch in, just 'cause I made nice with a giant robot lion doesn't mean I get to sit around."

"Ideally, the palace would be full of attendants," Ilianya said. She wasn't looking at Hunk now, but rather toward the center of the room. "This castle ... is much smaller than we'd been led to believe. But the Castle of Lions has been myth for many centuries now, and the paladin-candidates are more like acolytes than warriors."

Hunk straightened, flicking the water from his hands. "I dunno, you and Rian seem pretty warrior-like to me..."

Ilianya lifted her head and looked at him, but then smiled sharply. "We are not the usual candidates," she said. "When rumors that the lions had been seen among the outlying systems the elders had to scramble, several of the current ... excuse me, former, paladin-candidates were older, and new ones had to be selected." She touched the end of her hair, the heavy golden plait laying over her right shoulder. "I was of the class training to be royal guard."

Hunk held out a towel, and Ilianya looked at it, confused, then to Hunk's face, eyebrow arched. "You're drying," Hunk explained, and after a moment Ilianya took the towel from Hunk and moved to his left side, so he could pass along the rinsed tableware. "Never washed dishes before, huh?" Hunk asked lightly, as she flipped the towel to her other hand and took the tray he passed her.

"I am not a child," Ilianya said stiffly, as she dried the tray and set it aside. She dried the next one he handed her, and then said, "I cannot fathom how this could be _fun_."

"It helps me clear my mind," Hunk said.

"I feel that could be accomplished in far less demeaning ways," Ilianya said. "Meditation, perhaps."

"Doing the dishes isn't _demeaning_ ," Hunk said, offended. "And meditation makes me sleepy."

Ilianya quirked another smile as she stacked the trays. "Maybe you aren't doing it right."

"Undoubtedly," Hunk agreed, as he reached into the sink to pull the plug and drain it. He wiped his hands on another towel, and looked over at Ilianya brightly. "Want to see her?" he asked, and she looked puzzled.

"See who?"

"Yellow!" Hunk said. "I'm gonna go down to Green's bay, Pidge has this awesome tech setup that we both use, but if you want I'd be glad to show you Yellow, first."

Hunk's grin was infectious and even Ilianya was not immune. Her smile was very genuine, and didn't fade, this time. "I would love to see her," she said, and Hunk flipped the towel over the edge of the sink and led the way.

 

* * *

 

Lance had reduced the silver packet's drink to just its straw, and was chewing on that as he slouched along the corridor, hands jammed into his pockets. He really didn't have a destination in mind, except to avoid The Brat, so that meant the training room was off limits. Also the galley, the common area, and possibly the bridge, because who knew where he was going to turn up again and Lance just wanted to punch the smug little grin off his face. And he wasn't usually the violent type, that was _Keith's_ position on this team.

But Keith seemed determined to take all the hatred on the chin, and that left the knot of anger tight in Lance's chest. Shiro was acting normal around him, or at least mostly normal; and as for the others? Did everyone even _know_ , now? Lance chomped on the straw and stormed deeper into the ship, his feet taking him toward Blue's bay without conscious thought.

He turned a corner and promptly almost tripped over Keith, who was sitting with his back to the corridor's wall, a datapad in his lap, teal Altean text floating above the translucent frame. Lance yelped and stumbled but didn't fall on his face, he spun on one foot and stomped it on the ground, arms folded as he glared at Keith.

Keith, for his part, caught his datapad before it could hit the floor. The Altean tech was hardy and Lance didn't doubt it would survive the impact, but the instinct to preserve fragile tech was too ingrained in them both. "Dude!" Keith said. "Watch where you're going!"

"Don't sit tucked around a blind corner, dumbass," Lance snapped back, hands going to his hips and chin jutted out. Keith aggressively rolled his eyes and looked back down at the datapad, and Lance huffed but relaxed his stance. "What are you doing down here anyway? There are actual, you know, chairs. In the rooms, or the common area."

"Yeah," Keith said, and didn't look up.

"You hacking the ship?" Lance asked. "Gonna tell your buddies where to find us?"

"Not funny, Lance," Keith said, and there was a note of hurt mixed in there. Lance felt a little bad, and sighed, then stepped closer and put his back to the wall beside Keith, sliding down into a sitting positing beside him. That did make Keith look up, and then over at Lance. "What are you doing?"

"What, I can't sit down with my boyfriend?" Lance asked.

Keith turned a little pink. "You don't have to hover," he muttered.

"I'm not hovering," Lance said, and flicked the straw to the other side of his mouth to chew on it there. He sighed deeply and stared across the corridor; here close to the lion's docking bays more of the internal workings of the ship were present, thick pipes ran along the walls and into the ceiling above. Here it definitely felt more like a ship, and less like a castle. "You're in the bowels of a ship sulking like, some, IDK, bilge rat or something."

Keith lifted his head and _stared_ at Lance. "Did you just _say_ , 'IDK'?" Then his expression twisted further. _"Bilge_ rat?"

"Yeah, you know the rats that live down in the deepest, dankest parts of a ship..."

"I know what a bilge rat is, Lance." Keith shook his head and knocked his head back into the wall behind him, clearly exasperated as he repeated to himself in a mutter, " _bilge_ rat..."

"See, that surprises me what with the whole 'not raised on Earth' thing," Lance said. He poked Keith's shoulder. "So spill, when _did_ you show up planetside? I need to know what classic movies you have no idea exist so I can torment you with quips later." He poked Keith's shoulder again. "That _does_ explain why you didn't get my clever, clever cheer, though..."

Keith sighed. "Lance, if you're just going to be annoying, I _am_ working on something here."

Lance leaned over, so his shoulder pressed into Keith's. "You do know I love you," he said. "Right?"

With their shoulders touching he felt the sharp intake of breath, then the sigh out as Keith exhaled. When Lance looked at him, Keith wasn't looking at Lance ... but he was smiling. "Yeah," Keith said. "I do."

"Good." Lance took the straw out of his mouth. The he put his hand on the shoulder he was leaning into, and twisted, lifting off the ground a little so that he could kiss Keith properly. Keith put his hand on the back of Lance's head, and Lance laughed against his mouth as Keith kissed him aggressively back, teeth catching on Lance's lip when Lance pulled a little back.

"Naughty," Lance murmured, running his tongue over his lip and smirking, and Keith huffed at him, fingers still curled tight in Lance's hair.

"You're one to talk," Keith muttered right back, flushed red now, to his ears. "I don't even have to look and I can tell you're hard."

Lance had rolled to his knees, now — and he put one hand on Keith's thigh, not quite his lap. Looking into Keith's eyes, Lance rocked back onto his haunches and looked up and down the corridor. Keith wiped the back of his mouth and looked like he was going to say something when Lance's hand made for the bulge in his pants.

"Lance!" Keith yelped, both his hands going for Lance's, the datapad hitting the floor this time for certain. "What the _hell_ , this is a public corridor-!"

"Then you better be quick," Lance said, fingers deft on the catch of Keith's pants. Keith flailed his hand, one palm slamming into Lance's chest as Lance bent over him. He could easily have shoved Lance off, as Lance pulled him out of his pants, fingers already familiar with his shape. "Unless you don't want me to," he said, crouched over Keith's lap, eyebrow raised. "I'll stop."

"You _dick_ ," Keith hissed, and thumped his head back against the wall, face scarlet from forehead to chin. "If you're gonna, I want you to suck me," he groaned. "I'll get off faster if you suck me..."

Lance nodded his head, fingers tracing the head of Keith's cock, spreading the slick that beaded from the tip. "Yeah, okay," he said. "Stand up, that'll make it easier."

 

* * *

 

Shiro stood on the bridge with one hand covering the bottom part of his face and his ears starting to turn pink as Allura folded her arms.

"I think," she said slowly, "that we should make everyone aware that there are cameras in all the corridors."

Shiro didn't respond, because he was watching the small figures on one of the many security screens. He was watching the almost too-small fingers of Keith's hand tightening in Lance's hair, when he realized Allura was staring at him. "Um, right," Shiro responded. "Yes."

"Shiro?" Allura said, because Shiro's attention was captivated by the monitor. She sighed and shook her head, then cleared her throat and Shiro's attention jumped back to Allura, the blush plainly obvious by now. She raised an eyebrow and made a very concerted effort to not let her gaze drift because it seemed like Shiro enjoyed wearing clothing that was perhaps a bit too snug. "Go deal with that," she said, inclining her head to the security feed, before cutting off the monitors and bringing up the system map again. "We need them to be able to focus when we outline our strategy tonight."

Shiro didn't have to be told twice.

Allura shook her head and chuckled to herself as the lift doors closed behind Shiro. " _Boys_ ," she said, amused, and then she glanced around the bridge. Knowing that she was the only one present, she flipped back to the security monitor. "Really," she said. "Humans mating rituals are so _primal."_

She didn't turn off the feed.

  



	78. Chapter 78

"Oh, hey," Shiro said in a distracted fashion as he passed Hunk and Ilianya in the corridor. He was carrying Lance over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and Lance waved cheerfully at Hunk. Keith was walking a little strangely in front of them, and Shiro's right hand was planted firmly in the center of his back, guiding him.

"Hi, Hunk," Lance called as they passed. Shiro didn't even slow his stride. "Bye, Hunk!"

Ilianya looked back at them, puzzled. "What was that about?"

"Trust me," Hunk said, "you do _not_ want to know."

 

* * *

 

Lance huffed a little, mildly indignant at the way that Shiro had dropped him unceremoniously on the bunk. He was a bit miffed that they had been interrupted so abruptly, and he crossed his arms and jutted his bottom lip out, but Shiro's attention had gone right to Keith. Lance would have been jealous at that, except Keith was halfway out of his pants already and headed straight for Lance on the bed.

Shiro caught Keith around his waist and spun him, so his back was pressed to Shiro's chest. "You're awfully eager," Shiro said, resting his left hand along the bared skin of Keith's hip. He traced his fingers along Keith's hipbone, then brushed them down through the short dark hair that framed his cock.

"Let me _go_ ," Keith whined, staring at Lance's mouth with a vicious hunger. "He needs to _finish_ what he _started-_ "

Lance sat up and rested his arm on his knee, grinning lewdly at Keith. He pursed his lips and blew Keith a kiss, and Shiro released Keith with a snort, and watched as Keith promptly bowled Lance over on the bed and climbed on top of him. "Ah," Shiro said, realization dawning that Keith was still wearing his boots. "Keith!"

Keith ignored Shiro completely, holding Lance's head still with both hands while rubbing his cock over the bridge of Lance's nose. Lance was clearly trying hard not to laugh, one eye closed and biting his bottom lip, his arms flailing for Keith's thighs. "Suck him," Shiro rumbled, and Lance wet his lips and got his arm looped over Keith's leg, allowing him to use his hand to steady Keith's cock. With the way Keith was sitting on his chest and practically on his face he couldn't _see_ Shiro, at least, not until Shiro's right hand creeped along Keith's thigh, urging him up slightly, working on getting those aggravatingly tight pants pulled down farther.

Lance lightly licked the tip of Keith's penis, felt his body tremble. "So we got interrupted," he said, waiting for Shiro to urge Keith's other leg up. "You really just wanna fuck my mouth? Now?"

"Shut up, Lance," Keith growled and Lance allowed himself to be shut up by Keith's cock jamming into his mouth and almost down his throat. His eyes went closed in satisfaction as he hummed around Keith's length, and still managed to not gag on him.

It didn't take particularly long, but that was in part due to the fact that Keith had almost been at climax when Shiro had surprised them both. Lance gurgled as Keith pushed off of him, long sticky strands of his come dribbling from Lance's mouth. " _Fuck_ ," Lance managed, when he'd swallowed what he could.

He propped himself up on an elbow, able to breathe again without Keith's weight on his chest, and then Shiro grabbed him by the front of the shirt and yanked him the rest of the way upright, kissing him savagely. Lance gasped against Shiro's mouth in surprise, then both his hands went to Shiro's head as they kissed, Shiro's tongue working to clean the rest of the overspill from Lance's face.

"Feel better?" Shiro asked Keith conversationally as Lance clung to him, panting into Shiro's shoulder at the intensity of that make-out session.

Keith laid on his side, his tee shirt rucked up his belly and his cock still drooling a little against his thigh. He nodded at Shiro lazily, a satiated grin on his face.

"I don't," Lance muttered, and Shiro raised an eyebrow. Lance lifted his head and pouted. "I'm really, really _hard_ ," he whined, wiggling his hips suggestively. Shiro shoved him back on the bed and he bounced on the mattress slightly, legs still over the edge.

"Okay, so," Shiro said, and then looked to Keith like he was considering something. "Fuck Keith, then."

"W-what," Lance said, turning pink.

Keith rolled onto his stomach, presenting the curve of his ass to them both. "I'm not in heat," he said lazily. "It'll probably require some lube." Lance wet his lips and looked at Shiro, but Shiro was staring at Keith's ass with an equally hungry look on his face.

"I don't think that's going to be an issue," Lance said, as Shiro put one knee on the bed, and both his hands on Keith's rear, spreading his cheeks. Keith let out a little moan and a wiggle, and rolled his head to look at Lance as Shiro lowered his head.

"I don't think so either," Keith said, and then sharply inhaled.

 

* * *

 

Allura was seated on the bridge, one eye on the security monitors, scanning the ship and the other on the outboard sensors. It was still quiet, deceptively so, and she had the niggling suspicion that something wasn't quite right but hadn't sorted out where that worry was coming from. The monitors were quiet now that _certain_ sets of paladins were no longer snogging in inappropriate manner in the corridors. Allura tapped a button on the navigation panel of her computer, one of the Altean mice seated on her shoulder and chirping occasionally.

The plan she had put together was risky, but doable; especially with the addition of three sets of hands as backup. Allura tapped another button, which caused the six monitors to flip over to the next set of feeds, and the outboard sensors returned a soft ping that there had been no detected scans.

It seemed highly unusual that they had been left alone. Especially with the Blue Lion being actively seen on the moon; their escape path should have been easy to track. There was the chance that the frigate was a decoy, sent to scare them into staying in place while a larger force was mustered, but from their long-range readings there hadn't been much by way of transmission bursts from the frigate, and if they were communicating a major strike with the main fleet out of system there would be more than one major transmission burst a cycle.

Allura was uneasy. She tapped the monitor switch again, it showed the interior of two of the docking bays. The tiny figures of Hunk and Ilianya were standing by the paw of the Yellow Lion, and Allura propped her chin on her hand and smiled a little, before tapping the switch again.

The training room, this time. The young Altean Rian was training again with his double blades against the gladiator bots, moving quickly and accurately through the drone soldiers. It was excellent to have more soldiers for this conflict, although she needed to plan a way to resolve the conflict between them. Allura lifted her chin from her hand as she heard the lift doors open, and Coran stepped out of the lift, carrying a drink.

"I thought you would be thirsty," Coran said, offering the mug of caf to Allura. "You've been up here quite some time, Princess Allura."

"Planning," Allura said. She mean to tap the switch for the monitor cut-off but instead she hit the cycle one again, it showed a different vantage point in the training room. "I wanted to go over the specifics of the operation again before we would have to commence it, but unfortunately Shiro is now otherwise occupied." She hid a smile in the cup as she took a drink — if nothing else, she knew Shiro deserved the downtime.

Although she was willing to bet he wasn't getting very much _rest._

Her eye caught on the monitor again showing the training room — in the corner of the screen there was a very faint, yet distinct glow. She looked over and Coran followed her movement, his brow furrowed. "Isn't that where the memory core is?" he said.

On the screen, Rian had defeated the last of the gladiator bots. He stood, chest heaving, and he was looking in the direction of the glow as well. Allura put down her cup and tapped a few buttons on the navigation plane of the computer, opening up the comm to the Green Lion's bay. "Pidge, I think you need to get to the training room," she said. "The memory core is doing something."

There was no response from the docking bay. Brow furrowed now, she pressed in the comm button again. "Pidge, are you there?"

Coran had stepped to his console and opened up the security feed as well, swiping over to the Green Lion's docking bay. "Oh," Coran said. " _Quiznak_."

The Green Lion was gone.

  



	79. Chapter 79

Allura stood on the bridge, her arms folded and a scowl on her face. Coran had been trying for ten minutes to raise the Green Lion on the open frequencies, but something was blocking the video transmission to the lion. Neither of the Galran ships had moved and while it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that they were responsible for jamming transmission signals the most likely culprit was in the pilot's seat.

"Why would she turn off video communications?" Allura snapped, drumming her fingers against one arm as Coran scanned all available frequencies for some form of contact with Pidge. "That doesn't seem like Pidge at all!"

Coran did not respond to that, his attention divided between the scanner and the monitors. He was going backwards through the footage, trying to determine when it was that the Green Lion launched. All of the lions were outfitted with alerts that went out to notify the bridge whenever a paladin launched solo; but _someone_ had hacked the coding and this time the alert never tripped.

Allura had a pretty good idea of who.

She moved a little to the side and tapped one of the ship's internal communications lines. There was no doubt in her mind she would be able to tell if the Green Lion was in distress, and that went double for being captured by the enemy — and neither of those things had occurred yet. "Hunk," she said into the communications array. "I hate very dearly to interrupt your courtship, but I need you to get to the training bay and see if you can figure out what the memory core is doing."

Allura closed the open line before Hunk could finish stammering his way through the word 'courtship'. "You should call the others," Coran said, eyes on the screen ahead of him. "We'll likely need to launch all the lions to find and corral them."

Allura's hand still rested on the computer's console. "Why would Pidge _do_ this?" she said aloud instead. "Stop the long-range scanners, Coran, I'll find her." She stepped toward the forward console, where Coran was standing, and brought the three dimensional map up with a few grand gestures.

"I don't know if that's the best idea, Princess Allura," Coran said, half turned from his console to watch her. Allura didn't respond, her eyes closed and hands outstretched; the map of star systems had spiraled out across the bridge, and then slowly shrank, zooming in on the system where they currently were. Coran shook his head and pressed a button on his console, opening up another communications line.

 

* * *

 

Rian was still in the training room when Hunk arrived. He'd swung by the Green Lion's bay to grab Pidge and one of her far-too-many pieces of filched Altean tech when he discovered what Allura and Coran already knew, that the Green Lion — as well as Pidge and Matt — were gone.

The Altean was standing in front of the memory core, both of his blades tucked under one arm, the other hand on his hip. Rian glanced at Hunk and Ilianya as they entered the room, then looked back to the glowing memory core. It wasn't the softly flowing script that was lit up this time; instead the glow seemed to come from within the core itself. It was very faintly violet.

"Why do you have a memory core hooked up to so many primitive devices?" Rian asked as Hunk plopped the datapad onto a dock and made certain that the area was clear before dropped into a seated position on the floor in Pidge's usual spot. "Why not just a dock?"

"Hush," Ilianya said to Rian. She was looking at the memory core though, a frown on her face.

"We got this off an abandoned Galra ship," Hunk said, eyes on the scrolling information in front of him. "We didn't know _what_ it was, Lance and Shiro were in it." He tapped the datapad, then yanked his hand back as its screen went fuzzy. Without a word he scrambled forward and began yanking some of the wires from the stone. "It's pushing power back into the devices, they it's going to overload the system!"

Ilianya leaped forward and helped Hunk pull the wires free; fortunately there were very few left. The memory core kept pulsing, softly violet. "I've never seen one act like this before," she said, taking a step back. "It's unreal."

Hunk was looking at the ends of the wires, then tossed them back toward the equipment, he didn't have time to catalog damage. "Do you think it's dangerous?" he said urgently. "If it's going to explode we need to shove it out an airlock now, no later."

Rian shook his head. "It's not dangerous," he said.

"Yeah, I really don't trust you," Hunk said, and looked at Ilianya. She was squinting at the memory core like she was trying to remember something important. "Ilianya?"

"I think it's _resonating_ ," she said finally.

"Okay, _great_ ," Hunk said. "If it's resonating, then that means there's something else oscillating at the same frequency. What could have triggered it?" He reached out to touch the memory core, and he could feel the warmth coming off the stone before his hand made contact. He didn't get a chance to feel it, though, because Ilianya lunged forward and grabbed his arm with both hands, twisting it hard and yanking him to the side, keeping him from touching its surface. Hunk made a somewhat pathetic yelping noise as she dropped him.

"Don't _touch_ it," Ilianya snapped, and Hunk cradled his arm to his chest. She turned and glared daggers at Rian. "That means you too," she snapped, and Rian dropped his hand sullenly back to his hip.

"We need to find what else is resonating," Hunk said.

"Maybe it's the other memory cores." Rian's tone sounded bored. "Or the lions."

"If it had been one or the other of those this would have happened before," Hunk said, and shook his head sharply. "Dammit, where is _Pidge_ , she was the one running all the experiments on this thing."

"Holt's sister is gone?" Rian said suddenly, and looked over to Hunk.

Ilianya nodded her head. "As is he."

Rian looked at them both like they were crazy. "Why are we just _standing_ here, then? They've clearly gone after the prisoner ship, we should be scrambling!"

Hunk looked at the memory core, torn. Then he nodded his head once. "I hate it that he's right, but he's right," Hunk said, looking at Ilianya. He grabbed up the datapad from its dock and touched the communications line. "Bridge," he said. "Allura, the memory core is resonating but appears to be stable. I'm prepping Yellow for launch."

 

* * *

 

" _Fuck_ ," Keith groaned against the base of Shiro's cock. Lance's mouth was hot on his shoulder, and Keith groaned again when his teeth bit into the muscle there, not quite hard enough to break the skin. Keith was teetering on the precipce here, somehow clinging on to his sanity with his fingertips as Lance moved inside him slowly and deliberately.

Shiro's hand brushed down through Keith's hair, fingers trailing down his cheek to frame his jaw. Keith was pretty much laying over Shiro's lap now, and Shiro's cock was wet and shiny with Keith's spit and the copious fluid leaking from its tip. Keith had his hand tight around its base, behind the knot, and Shiro urged his chin up so he could look at Keith's flushed and wrecked face.

"Amazing," Shiro mumured. Keith gasped a little as Lance moved again, his hands tight on Keith's hips and pulling them higher in the air, adjusting the angle of penetration. He was already overwhelmed by this, too much sensation, and Keith opened his mouth obediently when Shiro swept his thumb over Keith's lower lip. "Good boy," he murmured, and Keith shuddered as Shiro slipped his fingers into Keith's mouth.

"You should come on his face," Lance's voice was a little farther away now, one hand had gone from his hip to his back, palm resting against Keith's spine. "I bet he'd like that."

"Mm," Shiro withdrew his fingers from Keith's mouth and left Keith panting, his cock right there and begging to be sucked. "I bet _you'd_ like that, right, Lance?"

"Didn't say there wouldn't be perks for me in there too," Lance said, and snapped his hips suddenly. Keith tightened without conscious thought, wanting to keep Lance as deep as possible. It wasn't _fair_ that Lance and Shiro could be just _talking_ like this when Keith was almost delirious with the sensation of being thoroughly fucked. Lance curled his fingers in the hair gone lank with sweat at the base of Keith's neck. "Suck him," he said, yanking it firmly.

"Gonna... get you _back_ ," Keith managed to get out as Shiro shifted his own hips, pushing his erection against Keith's cheek. "Fuck, _Lance-_ " Keith's entire body tensed up as Lance found the spot, and Shiro rumbled in amusement as Keith came hard, rutting his hips into the bedsheets.

"What are you gonna do?" Lance leaned forward on the bed, curling over Keith's body. He put one hand on Shiro's thigh, and the other right beside Keith's shoulder, using his body to keep Keith in place.

Keith panted hard as Shiro stroked his own cock slowly, watching them closely. "Gonna, _gonna—"_ Keith huffed as Lance nuzzled the back of his neck, still rocking his hips slowly, thrusting in and out of Keith. "Gonna fuck you so hard you won't be able to sit up," Keith heaved the words out, eyes closed and cheek pressed to Shiro's thigh. "Gon' fuck you _both...."_

"I'll look forward to that," Shiro said, and Keith barely registered it, as Shiro rocked the head of his cock gently across Keith's lips. Keith opened his mouth automatically, and seemed to come back to life with Shiro's cock in his mouth. He twisted a little and Lance caught his arm up, twisting it to his back and holding it there, using Keith as an anchor to fuck him faster. Shiro didn't look up, attention on Keith's face, although he heard the change in Lance's breathing.

"Close?" he asked, and Lance just grunted his reply, his entire attention devoted to Keith's body.

It was then that there was a beep from the console built into the wall at the foot of the bunk. "No no _no_ ," Lance groaned, doubling over Keith again. "Not now, not _now-_ "

Coran's face appeared on the screen, although he was making a clear effort not to look up or make eye contact. "Sorry to disturb you," he said, staring down at the console. "But everyone needs to report to the bridge immediately."

"No, _no_ ," Lance buried his face in the back of Keith's neck. "Shiro, tell him _no_ -"

"It might be a few minutes, Coran," Shiro said, his voice somehow perfectly normal despite Keith suckling on his cock. "We do have to get cleaned up."

"Quickly." Coran looked up and, although he flushed a little, made eye contact with Shiro. "It's the princess."

  



	80. Chapter 80

In an impressive feat of _something_ , Shiro made it to the bridge fully dressed in his paladin armor in under five minutes. He stepped out of the lift with his helmet in hand, gaze sweeping the bridge. Ilianya was standing beside Coran at the main console, schematics and a map up on the forward display while Hunk was seated on the stairs next to Princess Allura, who had a blanket over her shoulders and a cup held between her hands. "Princess," Shiro said, and both Allura and Hunk looked up.

"I'm fine," Allura said at the concerned expression on Shiro's face. "Coran made it out to be worse than it actually is-"

"You passed out!" Hunk said. "That's bad!" He looked up at Shiro. "She went down like a sack of bricks as we were coming out of the elevator, I've never seen Coran move so fast."

"What happened?" Shiro stopped behind them, and Coran glanced back at Shiro and nodded his head once, acknowledging his presence.

"Pidge and Matt are gone," Hunk said.

" _What?_ "

"They took the Green Lion and left early this morning," Coran reported, gesturing to one of the images up on the screen, a survelliance of the Green Lion's bay showing it empty. "Without notifying anyone."

"I was attempting to locate the Green Lion," Allura said, hands tight around the steaming mug. "I'm not sure what happened after that." She took a sip of the liquid while Hunk fussed over her for a moment, and then looked Shiro up and down. "Did you take care of our ... _issue_?" she asked pointedly, and Shiro had the good grace to turn a little pink.

"Speaking of issues," Hunk said, effectively diverting their conversation, "the memory core is resonating."

"Resonating?" Shiro repeated, and then frowned. "Do you think it has anything to do with Pidge and Matt leaving?"

"Doubtful." Hunk shook his head, and then paused, glancing at Allura. "Unless you think otherwise?"

"The resonance didn't appear to start until well after they'd departed," Allura said. She didn't seem as concerned, and Shiro looked back to Hunk.

"Is it dangerous, what it's doing?"

Hunk shook his head again, then hesitated. "Well, I don't know," he said finally. "It's generating heat — although it's a small amount you can feel it if you get too close; and it also created a feedback loop that nearly burned out the computers that were attached before I broke all the connections."

"The memory core resonating isn't dangerous yet," Coran said. He turned to face them, as Ilianya had taken over the console and was typing in something rapidly. "I rather suspect it has happened before."

"Happened before?" Hunk said, surprised. " _When?_ "

"It's gone and done it a few times," Coran said. "I previously pulled the energy readings from the training room, it had some strange variances over the last few weeks but I didn't know what was causing it. Not sure why I didn't suspect the giant alien computer." He shrugged, then folded his arms, glancing back to Ilianya as she said something quite virulent in what must have been Altean, then slammed her palm on the console. "Don't be so rough on it," Coran chided, as a somewhat static-filled communications line opened; audio only.

"Holt!" Ilianya snarled, followed by a string of Altean. Allura stood up before Hunk could stop her.

"Don't speak to my paladin like that," Allura said sharply.

"I'm not speaking to your paladin like that, my lady," Ilianya said without looking up from the console. "I'm speaking to a member of my squadron. I found the communications channel that we use on our flight suits." She said something else following that, and Coran snorted before he composed himself.

Hunk stood as well, the last one to his feet as Ilianya smacked the open communications button and this time spoke completely in the common language. "Holt, do you copy? Respond."

 

* * *

 

Keith had one eye shut as Lance cleaned his face with a wash cloth. "We _really_ don't have time for this," Keith said urgently, and Lance mostly ignored him.

"Yah, I know, I'm sure everyone would appreciate you waddling onto the bridge with a face full of Shiro's come," Lance said. Keith flushed a dark red under his hands. "If we have to scramble, we have to scramble, but Shiro's on the bridge now. He'll take care of it, whatever is going on." Satisfied that Keith's face was acceptably clean, Lance flung the spent wash cloth toward the pile of clothes kicked against the far wall. "Although I have to say watching you attempt to move quickly right now would be a comedic masterpiece in its own right."

"Shut up," Keith said, and batted Lance's hands away. "Whose fault is _that_ , huh?" He flushed even _darker_ when Lance smirked at him, and then he groaned. "God, shut _up_ , Lance."

"I didn't say anything," Lance said, still grinning. " _Yet._ "

"I could hear you thinking it," Keith muttered. He shifted gingerly on the edge of the mattress. "Where are my pants? We gotta go."

Lance went to the wall that hid a wardrbe, touching the panel that popped it free from its hidden-away state. The soft teal light spilled from the interior as the door opened, and Lance fetched a pair of Keith's pants and a fresh shirt. "Here," Lance said, and deposited them on Keith's lap. "Unless you want some help getting dressed...?"

"I can handle putting my pants back on," Keith said, and Lance shrugged. He did, mostly, handle it and even without wincing, standing upright and stretching his arms over his head once he'd buckled his belt back around his waist. Lance was already dressed, although once again he was wearing one of Keith's black tee shirts, which was just a little too short on him. "Why do you insist on stealing _my_ clothes?" Keith asked. "Shiro has black shirts in his closet too, you know."

"Yeah, but they're baggy on me and that's depressing," Lance said. "I feel like I could Hulk out in your shirts, you know?" He flexed and grinned at Keith, who promptly rolled his eyes.

"You don't even have a hint of muscle definition, you look ridiculous," Keith said, and Lance deflated for a moment, pouted, and then followed Keith out the door.

Keith was definitely moving a bit slower than usual, his stride greatly exaggerated. Lance kept up with him easily, grinning in a self-satisfied way that made Keith's ears turn pink because he knew exactly what Lance was thinking and Lance was a goddamned actual pervert and that, apparently, was contagious. "Would you stop _leering?"_ Keith asked finally, as they turned down the corridor toward the ready room where their armor was stored when not in use.

Keith stopped dead in the hallway, eyes on the entrance to the training room. "What is going on in _there_?" he asked, and Lance shrugged, intent on heading past it toward the ready room.

"Who knows?" Lance said, and Keith caught him by the shoulder and dragged him toward it, or at least enough steps forward to guarantee Lance wasn't going to wander off.

The soft violet-tinted light was coming from the memory core, set back against the far wall where it had been this entire time. However, standing directly in front of it was Rian, one hand on the side of the memory core, his back to them. The writing around his hand was glowing a soft white, but would occasionally tinge purple before fading back to white. " _Hey_ ," Keith yelled, startling Lance despite himself. "What the _hell_ are you doing!?"

Rian half-turned, hand still on the memory core. He saw Keith and promptly lifted one finger in a very distinctly human display of vulgarity, before the memory core flashed a bright white, dazzling both of them. Lance threw up his arm to block the brightness, but Keith was still moving forward with determination. "You pointy-eared freak!" Keith yelled, but the white light faded and Rian was gone.

Lance realized what was about to happen maybe about two and a half seconds before Keith did anything. "Don't-" Lance moved forward quickly, intending to grab Keith by the back of his shirt and yank him away but he wasn't wearing his coat with the handy dandy handle built in by way of a collar so instead Lance's hand landed flat on Keith's back, shoving him forward. Both of Keith's hands hit the memory core, Lance's hand on the back of his shirt.

"Hey, it's _warm_ ," Keith said, clearly surprised.

Lance just groaned. "I _really_ hate these things," he managed to get out, before the light enveloped them both.

The training room, now empty, returned to a regular level of light. The memory core was no longer resonating.

  



	81. Chapter 81

"Hey," Matt said, his back up against the curve of the corridor wall. "Do you remember that time when we went to the beach and Baxter ran away and you thought he went down that old trail that took you down the cliff side to the beach?"

Pidge was connecting a wire from her paladin suit into the glowing purple wall plate that held a distinctly alien handprint. "Yeah," she said. "I think so. Why?" She was a little distracted at the moment, focusing on trying to break in to the ship's computer system.

"I said 'that's a bad idea, what if part of the trail's washed away?' and you said, and I quote, 'don't be a pussy, Matt, let's go.'"

She hesitated in typing and looked up, eyes narrowed behind the blast shield. "I was _five_ , I'm pretty sure I wasn't saying, 'don't be a pussy.' Also, what's your point?"

"You _did_ say that, the babysitter swatted your bottom for it and you cried until I went looking for that dumb dog." Matt leaned to the side, surveying the sweep of the corridor, for the moment they were still undisturbed. "My _point_ is that listening to you gets me in a shitload of trouble, and I don't know why I do it."

"Hey, don't go foisting the blame, this one is all your idea." The wall plate glowed a bright fuschia for a moment, then the doors slipped open. " _Hah._ " She yanked the wires free and gestured with her head. "I only helped a little."

"Yeah, a little," Matt said. "Not, 'oh hey look at my giant lion you know what this would be good for? _Infiltrating a Galra ship all by my lonesome._ '"

Pidge shrugged. "Why keep playing tag with prisoner ships when you can get on board one and just steal all its secrets directly from its navigation computer?"

"Okay, but," Matt swept the corridor with his weapon and when they didn't encounter any guards, they both hurried down it. "Consider this: you can only pull navigational routes _directly_ from the navcomputer, which is usually, I don't know, _on the bridge."_

Pidge snorted. "You can pull navigational routes from any console connected to the ship's main computer. We don't have to storm the bridge."

"Those are gonna be encrypted, genius."

"I've got a _key_ , _genius."_

Matt caught Pidge by the heavy collar of the paladin armor and yanked her back before she just blindly crossed a hallway juncture. "Are you _trying_ to get caught?" He leaned around the corner slowly, checking for Galran guards and when he saw a pair, he exhaled. Then he put his back flat against the wall and composed himself. "Two of them, but their backs are to us," he said. "We can make it across if we're quiet."

Pidge leaned around the corner as well, bayard in her hand and sparking. " _Or_ we could incapacitate them."

"Yes, because someone stumbling across two clearly unconscious guards won't raise any sort of alarms." Matt moved suddenly, shoving Pidge ahead of him and they dashed across the hallway in tandem. Pidge moved to keep going left down the forked split in the corridor but Matt caught her arm and yanked her right. "This way," he said, and Pidge's head swiveled toward the Galran lettering on a plaque on the wall, then she looked over at Matt, who was staring down the hallway, his grip on her arm as tight as a vise.

"Matt?" Pidge asked, because his right hand, the one holding his plasma gun, was shaking.

"I'm fine," Matt said. He looked over at her and smiled a little, but there was nothing behind the expression and that scared Pidge more than anything. "Let's get this done, okay?"

"Yeah," Pidge said. "Let's."

 

* * *

 

Keith sat cross-legged on the floor, his arms folded and a scowl on his face. Interestingly, he was purple again, ears twitching out of his dark mess of hair, and wearing his paladin armor. Lance stood with his back to the wall, shoulders pressed into it as he watched Keith stare straight ahead and try to hold perfectly still.

He had been human when they first arrived, but a few minutes after doing so Keith sat down suddenly and he started to change. "I don't know where we are," Lance said, "but I don't think you being ... well, _you_ ... is going to help diplomatic relations."

The ear closest to Lance twitched and Keith did not look over at him. "Don't you think I know that?" he hissed. "I don't hold this form naturally, I don't know what it is about the memory core but I can't control it or shift back." He shifted a bit, rocking in place, and made a face.

"Dude, I _told_ you-" Lance started to say, but was silenced by the echo of footsteps in the corridor beyond. They both looked toward the door the small room expectantly, Lance with his bayard in hand, but the footsteps continued without break or pause, fading off. Lance relaxed a little, and leaned back against the wall, exhaling noisily. "Whenever we get back, we're gonna shove this thing out the airlock," he said. "It's causing way more trouble than it's worth."

Keith didn't respond to that, so Lance pushed off the wall anyway, walking to the small window inset in the room. It wasn't a prison cell, but wasn't heavily furnished, with a single bed pushed against the wall and an empty closet. It was remarkably low tech, all things considered; and reminded him vaguely of Earth which left a hard knot of homesickness in his throat that he had a hard time pushing aside.

The buildings were all low, squat things, three stories at best; mostly primitive in construction but with an outer veneer of sophistication, like they were constructed long ago and then just slowly updated over time. There were groups of people in the street, gathered in clusters; some walking with four and six-legged creatures clearly used for manual labor, others riding small hoverbikes. The street was pretty crowded, though in the distance rising above the lower buildings were taller, newer ones — and further off in the distance, barely visible, the jut of a castle-ship.

"So, not to induce panic or anything," Lance said. "But I'm pretty sure we're surrounded by Alteans."

"I never would have guessed," Keith said, tone very dry, as he stared at the closed door.

"We're gonna stick out so much," Lance said. There were a smattering of aliens, almost all bipedal, but they clearly stood out among the pedestrians on the street below.

"I'll take it, it's better than being on a Galran ship." Keith stood up finally, shakily, and Lance eyed him.

"Do we need to stop by a bathroom?" he asked Keith, and was gratified to learn that he could definitely blush in the form, his purple hue getting noticeably deeper on his face as he looked away, ears down.

"I'm _fine_ ," Keith said, folding one hand over his stomach. "This is a memory core, anyway, if I focus it away it'll go away." His face twisted a moment as he looked down. "And for the record, you're not allowed to come inside me any more."

"Yeah, that's not what you were saying at all," Lance snorted, and leaned against the window. " _Oh Lance,_ " he started in a high falsetto voice, but he stopped and laughed as Keith stormed over to him and shoved his shoulder back against the wall. The armor made a dull sound as he thumped back. "Ooh, testy," Lance said as Keith glared at him from way too close. Lance raised his eyebrows and smirked, and then caught Keith's chin and pecked him on the lips briefly. Keith shoved him back and flailed away and Lance laughed again.

"You're such a pervert," Keith huffed, turning his back to Lance and storming to the door. "You shouldn't _do_ shit like that while we're in here..."

Lance shrugged, then folded his arms, still back against the wall where Keith had left him. "Okay, _fine_. Ruin a perfectly good excuse to get frisky."

Keith looked back over his shoulder at Lance, ears back. "You shouldn't make fun," he said, golden eyes narrowed to slits. "You're not attracted to me like this, so don't act like you are." He resumed his inspection of the door, which had no knob and no visible wall plate to open it with.

Lance pushed off the wall, putting his hands on his hips. "Excuse me?" he said. "Last I checked you don't get to decide what I'm attracted to." He cocked his head. "Maybe fur and fangs turns me the heck on, you don't know that."

"You'd be the first," Keith muttered. "There's no way to open this door, it must be a holding cell of some kind. Looks like we're stuck in here."

"Well," Lance said, as his bayard shifted into its rifle form. "I guess that depends on your definition of _'stuck.'_ "

  



	82. Chapter 82

"Problems?" Keith asked dryly, standing with his arms folded as he watched Lance fiddle with his bayard. The weapon had not lit up in the slightest, its usually glowing bands dark. Lance scowled and pointed the weapon at the locked door again, but just as it had the last half-dozen times he'd tried it the weapon gave off no noise nor indication that it was supposed to do anything other than look threatening.

Lance banged his fist against the solid door uselessly, then let his arm dangle, the plasma rifle held against his body with his left hand. "This has happened before," he said, although he was still scowling. "In Shiro's memory."

Keith said, quietly, "you were in Shiro's memory?"

"Yeah." Lance sighed and shook out his arm, the bayard returning to its normal state in his hand. He half-turned and looked back at Keith, brow furrowed. "You sound like you didn't know that."

"I didn't." Keith's ears had gone flat against his head, mostly indistinguishable from his ruffled mess of dark hair.

"I _know_ we discussed this," Lance said. He folded his arms and tilted his head, trying to remember when, exactly, they had discussed it. After a long moment of silence, he shook his head once and shrugged. "Okay, I can't remember discussing it with you but I _know_ we did." He gestured back at the door. "But anyway, when we were in his, my bayard didn't work in the cell, but once we broke out of the established timeline all our shit started working like normal."

"That's all well and good, but we don't know where we are in that stupid little shit's memory," Keith said.

"Yeah, that does pose some problems," Lance agreed. Keith glanced around the tiny room and Lance did as well. There wasn't much at hand, no real furniture to speak of, windows large enough to see out of but too small to easily try to escape through. "Any ideas?"

Keith rubbed one of his hands over the vambrace on his left arm, then nodded his head. "I think I do," he said, and popped the latch on that portion of his armor. Lance's eyebrows shot into his hairline.

"Whoa," Lance said. "Are we actually doing this? Because I'm down-"

"God, shut _up_ ," Keith said, and tossed Lance his shed vambraces. "I don't want to shred the gauntlets on my uniform, okay?"

"... _what?_ "

Keith peeled off the thick dark vacuum-resistant material, exposing his hands and wrists, and rolled the sleeves up to his elbow. He was still wearing his fingerless gloves under the paladin armor, and Lance was about to open his mouth to say something snarky when Keith shot him a glare and Lance actually heeded the warning given. There _had_ to be something messed up in his head for him to actually shut up when Keith glared at him, and Lance snorted to himself about that thought.

Keith's hands didn't look all that different, at least not until Keith flexed one hand and Lance realized that instead of blunt, trim nails he had _claws._

"Okay, so when we finally do get around to fucking around with you like that, we're putting you face down in the mattress, I don't want you taking out chunks of my shoulder blades...." Lance shuddered at that thought. "Shiro might be into it, he seems like he might enjoy a bit of pain play-"

"Lance, I'm giving you one last chance to shut the fuck up," Keith said, putting one hand flat against the door, feeling out the building material through his fingers. "Besides, I'm pretty sure that if anything Shiro would want to be tied up and fucked into the mattress himself." He put both hands on the door as Lance sputtered, his brain almost refusing the image of an alpha tied up and submissive.

Keith flexed both of his hands and dug his fingertips into the door. The claws made a god-awful noise, digging into the cheap plastisteel construct — and after a moment Keith shifted one hand further away, and where he had flexed his hand into the door there were five distinct indents.

"What are you _doing?"_ Lance asked, bewildered.

"Trying to get a good grip on it," Keith grunted, the effort of digging his claws into the door obviously a larger strain than it casually looked.

"To do _wh-_!?" Lance hadn't even completed the sentence when the door let out a sickening crack and the hydraulic system that would usually make the door slide aside let out a mournful hiss as it vented vapor into the hollow interior of the door itself. "You can't be serious," Lance said, as Keith took a step back, satisfied. "Did you seriously just ... what did you _do-?"_

"Well, I _was_ trying to just crack the door, but it sounds like I broke it internally and that works too," Keith said. He was holding the back of one hand with the other, massaging it a little.

"With your _bare hands!?_ "

Keith looked over at Lance. His ears had been standing up again and they folded down slightly. "I told you," Keith said, the sharp crack of anger in his voice masking the hurt that Lance knew was there. "You _know_ I'm a freak." He started rolling down his sleeves, before holding his hand out for the gauntlets and vambraces.

Lance gave them over wordlessly, before walking to the door to inspect the puncture wounds himself. "Holy _shit_ ," Lance said, putting his fingers over the jagged plastisteel. "My boyfriend could bend me into a pretzel without even breaking a _sweat_." He glanced back at Keith and beamed, but the expression quickly changed over as he darted out of the way. Keith's boot slammed into the door, leaving a sizable dent.

The second kick took the door half off its track, exposing the hallway beyond. Keith got his fingers in the gap and Lance rushed over to help, and between the two of them they pulled the heavy plastisteel door aside enough that they could squeeze out of the room and into the hallway beyond. "Okay," Lance said as they looked left and right down a corridor lined with identical doors. "Eeny meeny miny mo?"

"Idiot," Keith said, and hooked his hand on Lance's arm and fully expecting Lance to yank his arm away as if Keith would crush it casually. Lance didn't even flinch. "Come _on_." He yanked Lance to the right and Lance went without complaint, bayard in hand as they rushed away, looking for their way out of this mess.

 

* * *

 

"But we're not going to be able to form Voltron without Keith and Lance," Hunk said as they stood in front of the schematic of the Galran prisoner ship. "We can't take Black and Yellow out, they don't have the cloaking tech that Green does."

"We can't leave Pidge and Matt alone on the ship," Allura said. "We're going, Hunk."

"You mean, _we're_ going," Shiro corrected mildly.

Allura straightened, a dangerous look on her face. Hunk held out both hands in a placating manner. "Princess, you _just_ passed out, maybe it's not a good idea-"

"I'm _going_ ," she said firmly, in a tone that brooked zero argument. Coran sighed from his position at the forward console, and while he hadn't turned around there was clearly an eye roll in there somewhere as well. "Did you have something to _add_ , Coran?"

"Hunk is right, Princess," Coran said, looking back finally. "You did just have a spell."

"A spell that has _passed_ ," she said. "Without the rest of the paladins we're going to need all the firepower we can get. I need you to stay with the ship and coordinate for us."

"This still doesn't solve the problem that if the Galran _see_ two Voltron lions coming toward them they're going to greet us with a barrage of firing weapons," Hunk said.

"So we fly under the radar," Ilianya said. "I'll pilot my fighter; the princess can take Rian's. We can provide enough cover fire for a distraction the radar technicians won't even notice the lions."

Hunk nodded a little at that. "If we can slave the IF/F frequencies of the lions to broadcast something Galran, then the actual signal profile for the lions will be Galra ships and only a visual check would show anything different."

"Good," Shiro said. "Can you slave the lions to a Galra IF/F beacon?"

"Give me ten minutes," Hunk said, and he was already halfway to the elevator. The doors closed behind him and Shiro looked to Ilianya. "Do you think you can cause enough of a distraction on your own?"

Ilianya looked at Allura, and then to Shiro. "What do you mean?"

"Princess, you'll need to take the shuttle," Shiro said. "Pidge and Matt are freeing prisoners, no matter what they say otherwise. We'll need some kind of transport ship for as many as we can get; while we might be able to steal some from the prisoner ship there's no guarantee that we'll be able to launch anything other than what we came in."

Allura, who had been about to throw down with the insinuation that she shouldn't pilot a starfighter, pulled back and nodded. "That's a good point," she said. "I will take the shuttle then, if you think you can handle it solo, Ilianya."

Ilianya smirked. "There's a reason I'm the flight commander, princess," she said, and then bowed slightly. "I need to do preflight, if we're launching right away." Without waiting to be excused Ilianya hurried for the elevator herself, leaving Shiro, Allura and Coran on the bridge.

"You're certain you will be all right to fly?" Shiro asked Allura.

"Do not ask me again," Allura said, and Shiro nodded his head once, and looked back to the schematic, and the two green dots that identified the location of Matt and Pidge. They blinked steadily and then, without warning — one went out.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know it's been a little while between chapters and that will happen a bit during this month, as I'm also working on nano. Good news is, my nano is *also* a Voltron fanfic: [martinis, girls & guns](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8442817) if you want to check it out. I'll be trying to put out a chapter a week on this while doing nano at the same time, wish me luck!


	83. Chapter 83

The console was not unusual to Galran ships; smooth plates that would shift their image to display holographic keys, activated by a palm print. Pidge ran her hand along the top of the console, feeling for the catch and popping the slot open that allowed her to plug her paladin armor directly into the console's mainframe and hopefully bypassing the manual palm print input.

"It's quiet," Matt reported, flipping the interior lock on the door instead of standing guard at its entry. The room had been abandoned, a guard's station not currently in use. "Too quiet."

He laid his weapon on the console and looked up at the large split screen display as Pidge typed input directly into the forearm console that her armor supported. "Yeah, I don't like it," Pidge said without looking up. "We haven't run across any drone soldiers either, just a handful of flesh and blood Galrans. It makes my skin crawl."

"Most of them are probably at the games," Matt said, and the weird quality to his voice made Pidge look up finally and glance over at her brother. He wasn't looking at her, but up at the split screen covered in Galran writing. He didn't look over or acknowledge her, and the light from the monitor reflected off the front of his full-face helmet. The glare made the transparency moot, and Pidge glanced back down at her arm when the program beeped. "What was that?"

"Decryption check," Pidge said. "It'll start to auto-decrypt while its downloading, we can start filtering while it processes."

"No need." Matt tilted his head forward and popped the latch on his full-face helmet, setting it on the console itself. His hair was plastered down to his head with sweat, and, like Pidge, he wasn't wearing glasses with his helmet. "I can read Galran."

Pidge hesitated a long moment before saying anything else. Matt had slammed both of his hands onto the console and he was staring at the screen with a desperation she felt down into her bones. Prisoner transport lists, inventories, gladiators, injured, _dead —_ they all scrolled past the screen faster than any human eye could read, never mind translate. "Yeah," Pidge said finally. "I can read Galran too, kinda, but not at that speed. You're not going to see anything that my programs can't pick out, Matt."

Matt bowed his head forward, hands still braced on the console's edge. Then he let out a long, ragged sigh. "You're right," he said after the exhale had passed. "I just ... gotta find Dad, Katie. I _left him._ I have to find him again."

She remained silent. There was a memory there, slipping out the window at night with a backpack and her newly-cut hair still in the wastebasket of the bathroom, her mother, exhausted, sleeping on the couch with the television still on. It hurt to leave her behind without telling her what she was planning, but she _had_ to, if the Garrison had come around asking questions her mom had to not _know_ what she had planned ... and that was leaving her mother to safety, on earth.

Not alone in an alien prison camp.

Pidge swallowed, as Matt looked up again. The violet light hollowed out his face, and he looked even older. "We'll find him," Pidge said softly. "Both of us. _Together._ "

He looked over at her. It took a long moment but then he smiled, stepped closer and put his arms over her shoulders. "I still can't believe you're here, little sis," he said, as she hugged him back with her one free arm. "I keep thinking I've been dreaming, all this time, and I'll wake up right back where I started." He didn't move, and Pidge patted his back awkwardly after a moment.

"I gotta," she said, and he let her go so she could punch more buttons on the arm that was connected to the console. "Shouldn't be too much longer now," she said, as Matt picked his helmet back up off the console and put it on, before picking up the weapon he'd laid beside it. "What are you doing?"

"There are still prisoners on this ship," he said. "We're not leaving them."

"Of course we're not," Pidge said. "But I've gotta finish the mainframe dump first." She watched him walk to the entrance and touch the lock, the color switching from red to violet as it unlocked. "Matt," she said suddenly. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"New plan," he said. "You keep downloading the mainframe, and I'll free the prisoners."

"No," Pidge said. "No, we'll go _together_ , we're not splitting up." He touched the muzzle of his gun to the top of his helmet in a salute, and Pidge fumbled the input keys, trying to halt the data transfer so she could unhook and follow him. "Don't you _dare_ go without me," she said, as he opened the doors. "Matt!"

He stepped out into the hallway, and the doors slid shut behind him, then locked red again. Pidge let out an inarticulate noise of frustration and considered yanking the connector free but that would likely corrupt all the data she was transferring, never mind possibly setting up a system alarm that the Altean software had infiltrated the ship's core. She slammed her hand on the console and looked back at the doors, then to the progress bar that sat on the forearm display, merrily chugging along at barely 18% completed. "God _dammit_ I hate it when he pulls shit like this!"

 

* * *

 

The easiest way to launch one of Voltron's lions was to take the personalized elevator to their speeder and go from there. The more roundabout way was to go through the lion's individual launch bay — which could take longer, but had the added benefit of letting Hunk stop by the main bay for a brief moment. He wasn't entirely sure why he felt the need to but he did, to see the trio of sleek black fighter craft. One had engines running, providing a soft violet glow that ran along the back of the craft and through lines on the swept-back wings. Its canopy was still open, though, and a slim figure clad in a black flightsuit was still standing on a loading ladder.

"Come to see me off, Hunk?" Allura said from behind him, and Hunk jumped a little, nearly fumbling the helmet of his paladin armor. She smiled at his reaction, and rested her hand on his arm for a moment. "There will be time enough later," she said softly, and passed him by.

Hunk looked down at the helmet in his hands, then watched as Princess Allura walked along the length of the Galran fighter craft. Ilianya turned to see her, and gave a thumbs up to her, a surprisingly universal symbol it seemed. Then she climbed into the cockpit of the craft, kicking the loading ladder away in a smooth motion as she pulled down the canopy and sealed it. Allura crossed the bay and headed toward one of the shuttle bays, and Hunk put on his own helmet, heading out of the main bay and toward the hatch that led him to the Yellow Lion.

 

* * *

 

Shiro was sitting in the cockpit of the Black Lion, not really looking at the screens around him. Hunk had been right, earlier — without Keith and Lance they wouldn't be able to form Voltron. It was risky business flying the lions against any Galra ships without that in their back pocket, but they didn't have much of an option at the moment. They were in the memory core, for better or worse, and Shiro straight-up ignored the way his throat tightened at the thought. They'd both been in the memory core before. They could handle themselves. He had to focus on this.

His communications screens went live as Hunk settled into his flight chair. "Sorry 'bout that," he said as he leaned forward, activating a few switches in the Yellow Lion. "We're running at peak over here, primed and ready to go."

Shiro glanced over at the audio feed; the smaller Galra craft didn't have a video connection. "Ilianya, do you copy?"

"Call sign is Kestral Lead," Ilianya's voice came through the communications. "Three engines lit and fourth at 99%."

"Understood, copy that, Kestral Lead," Shiro flipped over to the bridge camera that showed Coran at the main console of the Castle of Lions. "Any word from Pidge or Matt, Coran?"

"Comm lines are still down I'm afraid," Coran said. "Both of them are appearing on the map of the prison ship."

"The moment Keith and Lance decide to grace us with their presence get them to their lions," Shiro said. "Keep us in the loop, Coran." He pushed both of the thruster bars forward, as the Black Lion rumbled around him, launching out of its bay at tremendous speed. "Kestral Lead, go make some noise."

"My pleasure," Ilianya said, and the dark craft lit with purple glowing lines looped past the Black Lion and shot around the vacuum of the small moon, headed for the populated moon of Eaphus, and the Galran waystation where the gladiator matches would be well under way.

 

* * *

 

Lance put both his hands on the lip of the building's roof and looked down, the wind blowing through his hair. The air was clean and breathable, but there was an unmistakable tinge of something to it that seemed to make Lance the slightest bit giddy. Keith wasn't about to waste the time trying to figure out what about it was affecting Lance so, it pricked at his sensitive nose and the wind tossed his bangs into his face.

There had been someone on the stairs they found at the end of the hallway; footsteps echoing heavily on the stone. Without hesitation Keith and Lance thundered up the stairs, which led them to the room; a long, flat expanse covered in gravel and small bits of dirt. From here they could really see the sprawl of the city around them; the buildings packed close, all low to the ground and stretched in either direction as far as they could see. In the distance, a castle-ship. The opposite direction, mountains — strangely, tinted almost green. Now that they were outside, Keith could see the stonework had the faintest tinge of green itself. It was familiar in an unsettling way; but he put that aside.

"So what do we do now?" Keith asked.

"Find Rian," Lance said, both hands on the stonework and watching all the Altean pedestrians below. "This is fucking _amazing_ , Keith, I wish Allura could see this!"

"Okay, we'll just find Rian somewhere in this mess of, oh, I don't know, twenty-five thousand or so Alteans," Keith said. "How do we find him, if he even wants to be found?"

"He wants to be a paladin so bad, I'd say that castle-ship in the distance is probably a good place to start," Lance said, pointing at it. The castle was of a similar construct to the Castle of Lions, although it had taken on a faint green hue like what the rest of the worlds seemed to be giving off.

"Yeah, that seems logical," Keith said. "We're gonna stand out like sore thumbs. Me, especially." Purple, furry skin and yellow eyes would go great among a race whose extinction was very nearly precipitated by the Galra. "That's gotta be a few klicks from here."

Lance said, "I have an idea."

He should know better than to listen to anything that came out of Lance's mouth that started with the words "I have an idea." And yet, here he was not ten minutes later, on the ground after a rather tumultuous descent from the exterior of the building to the tight alley below.

Where Lance pulled down some loose cloth awnings and draped it around Keith like a cloak. "Ugh," Keith said as the heavy material tented over the paladin armor, his ears going flat under the weight of it. "It smells like someone pissed on this, Lance!"

"Someone probably did," Lance said nonchalantly as he pulled another one down and wrapped himself in it.

"Great, now we just look like lepers or something." Keith tugged at the edge of the material, pulling it more over his face, casting his coloring in further shadow. "This is a great plan," he said, deeply sarcastic. "No one's gonna look at us _twice._ "

"To be unseen," Lance said matter-of-factly, "you gotta be society's unseen. C'mon, and don't forget to hunch. No one's gonna look too close at a beggar, not even an Altean."

Keith nodded his head, because it made sense and while he was absolutely certain Lance was out of his mind, it wasn't like there was a better option to be had. Without another word he followed Lance out onto the street, hood pulled down so low that it covered the glow of his eyes, and one hand holding tight to the back of Lance's cloak.

 


	84. Chapter 84

Lance let out a grunt when the Altean guard yanked down the hood of his cloak. There were a half-dozen of them, wearing full sets of light armor and carrying weapons; they had happened upon Lance and Keith skulking about in an alley near to the gates that walled the castle ship off from the rest of the city and closed in on them quickly. " _Hey_ ," Lance said, although a second guard had his wrists in a tight grip behind his back. "Watch the hair!"

The guard's face twisted in disgust at Lance. "What in the quiznack is wrong with your _ears_?"

"It's the latest fashion craze," Lance said. His next snarky comment was cut off as the guard holding his wrists activated magcuffs that were not dissimilar to the ones Coran had used in their training. The guard did not release his arm, though; and Lance didn't bother to try to struggle, instead twisting his head to look back at Keith.

Keith had his back to a wall, and seemed to have recessed even deeper into the improvised cloak. Lance could make out the glow of his eyes and little else. The guard who grabbed him was about to be in for a nasty surprise. However, Lance's attention was dragged away from Keith by the guard in front of him, more because the guard grabbed the cloak and pulled him forward a step. "You know that aliens are forbidden to set foot on castle grounds," the guard said sharply. "This is holy ground to us."

"Actually, I didn't know," Lance said. "But thank you. Now that I am aware, I'll make sure to steer clear." Lance tilted his head. "We just got lost, you see, we're looking for our friend-"

"Galra!" One of the guards behind Lance said in a shocked tone, and Lance sighed deeply, glancing back over his shoulder. Keith's hood had been pulled partially off — he had yanked away, although there was a guard on either side of him, one holding each arm and keeping him in place, the guard who had been pulling his hood back had a horrified expression on his face and had stepped away.

The other guards, including the one who held the front of Lance's cloak in a gloved hand, drew their weapons.

"All Galra found on New Altea are to be terminated," one of the guards behind Lance said, his weapon on Keith.

Keith tried yanking his arms free from the two burly guards who held him, but they had a good grip on him and he was not going anywhere. "Hey, _hey_ ," Lance said. "Look, buddy, I know you've had your differences but my friend there isn't Galra."

Everyone present looked at Lance in disbelief, including Keith himself. Lance shrugged his shoulders as well he could with his hands bound clearly behind his back. "I mean, he _looks_ Galra, so I totally see where you're coming from, but he's not."

One of the guards looked to the one still standing in front of Lance, who Keith had figured out was their captain. "Boss?" he asked imploringly.

"Holster your weapons," the captain said reluctantly. "We'll take them before the Elders; if that one is truly _not_ Galra then they can have the traditional punishment for trespassing on sacred ground."

"Oh boy," Lance said, full of artificial cheer. "Is that traditional punishment some grub? Because I am _starving_."

"And if it turns out he _is_ Galra," the Altean guard said, yanking on Lance's cloak and pulling him forward, out of the alleyway. "Then the executioner will be collecting two sets of boots."

"Ah," Lance said, as he staggered after the guard like a dog on a lead. "Well, _that_ sounds decidedly less fun."

 

* * *

 

The Galra prisoner transport ship was docked stationary alongside the waystation. There were a host of smaller ships docked there as well, some clearly Galran in design but most not; some traders, some mercenaries, plenty of tourist ships going through the waystation as a processing point between the moon of Eaphus and the exit point of a warp hole out of the system.

Shiro was watching the forward screens with half an eye on the active HUD in the corner. The shuttle that launched from the Castle of Lions was very clearly Altean in design, soft and curved and cleanly white. Hunk had installed false IF/F beacons on all the shuttles to beam out a false protocol; the only pilots who looked out a screen into space itself that might get a visual on the vehicle were those piloting single-pilot craft like starfighters. In all other circumstances a fake IF/F beacon broadcasting traditional Galran vehicle signatures was all the disguise they needed.

All the same, he kept most of his attention on the small shuttle. The princess was stubborn and hardheaded, but she knew what she was doing more than the rest of them; losing her would be an insurmountable tragedy in comparison. Pilots could be trained up and replaced, even Voltron pilots. Princess Allura was the last of Altea's royal house, and the last blood that bound Voltron together.

She was irreplaceable.

"Seems quiet," Hunk said from the communications console. Shiro nodded his head absently, confident that Hunk could see him but not lifting his head to check that visual communications were open between the two lions. Ilianya's starfighter was still on his HUD but long out of visual range; she was looping the long way around the moon before doing whatever it was she planned to do so that they had enough distraction to rescue Pidge and Matt as well as any of the prisoners that survived the gladiator ring. "Too quiet."

"I doubt there would be a lot of flight traffic during gladiator matches," Allura's voice came through the line calm and in control. "It seems that they're a large draw both on and off planet." Her voice changed a bit and he could envision her changing her form slightly enough to bypass any visual checks if the flight control asked for a visual confirmation of the pilot. "Going dark now," she said. "I'll reconnect once on board the prison ship."

"Copy that," Shiro said, as Allura's communications went out.

"Huh," Hunk said, his voice distant. "Uh, Shiro?"

Shiro lifted his head, attention torn away from the small white dot on his screen that denoted the princess and the transport shuttle. "What is it?"

"So that Galran frigate that's been sitting in Eaphus' orbit for the last few days?" Hunk's voice sounded calm but Shiro could already read the anxiety brewing under the surface. "It's breaking orbit."

"Breaking orbit and leaving, I hope," Shiro said although he knew that was too good to be true.

"Breaking orbit and headed for the waystation," Hunk said. "I think it's heading for _us._ "

Of course it was. Shiro didn't have any doubt that the frigate had been scanning for signs of Voltron since it entered the system. Blue's brief flight out of atmosphere wasn't enough to ping and Green's invisibility shield kept her off radar, but Black and Yellow had been in flight for long enough for sensor readings to not only be picked up but be confirmed. "How long?" Shiro asked, as he could not see the frigate on his screen yet. The gas planet's magnetic atmosphere kept his sensors from peak ability.

Coran's face appeared on his screen, the visual communicator popping up above Hunk's on his right side. "It is breaking orbit, but it will take a bit to break the planet's gravitational pull, and that might take it at least two more full orbits before it can break away in the right direction," Coran said.

"Estimating twenty-six minutes," Hunk said before Coran replied. "That's not a lot of time..." Hunk's voice trailed off, what were the odds of Keith and Lance making it out of the memory core and to this fight? Not good at all. "How did they even _read_ us, our IF/F is set to Galran shuttles!?"

"It doesn't matter," Shiro said. "We'll just have to make it work." Shiro's eye caught the flashing light of the communications beacon. He tapped it and an audio-only transmit opened — Allura. "Docked and preparing to board," she said, her voice still that strange husky version.

"Roger that," Shiro said, hands tight on the flight controls, the chrono that Black had started on his screen already at twenty-four minutes.

 

* * *

 

Pidge sat with her back to the console, the arm that was wired in held in front of her. The progress bar was to seventy-three percent now, more full than not but it did nothing to quell her nerves. Matt was gone again, just like that — ran out the door with a plasma rifle in hand to rescue the prisoners without her. This was still a Galra ship, there were guards and drones and other things that could go wrong and she couldn't do anything, left behind like she was a liability.

She was going to give him a black eye when he got back.

With a frustrated noise Pidge hauled herself to her feet. She couldn't do anything else while that much information was transmitting, she had opened the throttle on the data transfer to speed it up but that meant she couldn't use her system to get into the Galra mainframe in the meantime. The screen behind her showed a constant stream of information, lists in Galran, blueprints, maps and more flickered past almost faster than she could comprehend.

Once the data transfer was complete she would upload her tracker into the system. Even if the prison ship didn't go back to its home base immediately, having her malware in its system would provide invaluable information about the Galra and hopefully be something integral to their eventual downfall.

Without conscious thought Pidge slammed the stop on the data transfer, pausing the information on the screen at the same time. There were all sorts of files in Galran, and the detail was something she was going to have to run through the translator on board the Castle of Lions, but that wasn't what caught her attention and triggered her to stop the transfer. It was a picture: there were several acolytes — druids, Pidge knew, that were tending to a group of Galran children.

Except, they weren't completely Galran. They all had some Galran characteristics and some looked more Galran than others, some more alien, with strange features she would never have imagined; tentacles or wings or horns, different coloring other than violet and purple ... and most importantly, to one side, some with Altean face markings.

When Pidge moved her hand over the console the picture moved, and she realized it was a clip — or at least a brief succession of photos, because the group of half-Galran children shifted and moved around and one of the children on the far end, one of the ones that looked more Galran than not, with dark hair and indistinct features, latched on to the extended arm of a druid with its teeth.

"As Lance would say," Pidge said to herself, her voice shaking just a little, "I'd recognize that mullet _anywhere."_


	85. Chapter 85

"What is it about memory cores and holding cells?" Lance asked philosophically, leaning forward against the bars. The holding cell was tiny, a one-person affair; if he stood in its center he could touch the walls at the same time with his arms outstretched. Not that there were actual _walls._ "I'm disappointed by how low tech this is," he said, rapping his knuckles on one of the metal bars as thick as his wrist. "I was expecting cool force fields that keep you incarcerated, not ... whatever _this_ is."

"Are you ever going to shut up?" Keith asked.

"No," Lance said. "Is it annoying you?"

" _Yes_." Keith was seated in his own cell, his back to the bars that divided the two holding areas. He had pulled the hood up over his head again, and the dark, heavy material made him look like a sulking lump. Lance cocked his head and looked down the row of cells — there was an Altean in the one closest to the guard station, but aside from that prisoner they were the only ones in the whole block.

"I really thought we were gonna be yanked right in front of some council or police or something," he said instead, still leaning on the bars. He knew that they were being observed, but the Altean guards hadn't ventured down closer to their holding cells. If anything, Keith's ... condition ... was making them give the two paladins wide berth. Lance was mostly fine with this, except the further away the guards stayed, the harder it was to find out if anyone knew Rian, or even where to find him. "They're all terrified of you."

"Surprise, surprise," Keith muttered. "I don't know why you don't take their cue."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Not that _again_ ," he said, and Keith shifted a little but didn't turn around. "C'mon, man. How many times are we gonna do this? You've given me plenty of outs, I'm _not_ afraid of you." He scratched his cheek with a finger thoughtfully. "Your fuzzy ears are kinda cute, actually. You know what, if you keep sulking I'm going to start calling you Mr. Fuzzypants."

This caused Keith to actually turn, and Lance saw the glow of his eyes under the hood. "I will fucking _kill_ you, Lance."

"There he is," Lance said in that same cheerful tone. "Mr. Fuzzypants."

Keith groaned and leaned his head back against the bars. " _Lance_ ," he said plaintively.

"I bet I could get Shiro calling you that too. It'll be your new nickname. Well that, and Mullet." Lance smiled beatifically. "I love it."

"I'm finding it really hard to remember why it is I like you."

"Because I have a bangin' bod and a great personality." Lance leaned hard against the bars, watching the guard stand up and move to the door. "Hey, I think something's happening."

Something was indeed happening. Another guard in similar dress came through the door at the end of the brig. Keith stood up and leaned against the bars as well, trying to look past Lance down the corridor. They couldn't quite make out what was happening, at least until one of the guards gestured emphatically down the corridor, clearly at them. "Oh boy," Lance said, as two armed guards made their way down the corridor to where Lance and Keith were imprisoned. "Looks like it's party time."

"No, wait," Keith said — although Lance wasn't sure what Keith thought he was waiting _for_ — and sure enough the second guard was dragging somebody by the arm.

Lance flinched back from the bars despite himself when the Altean guard slammed his hand very close to where Lance's face was. "Hey!" Lance yelped. "I thought you guys were _peaceful_."

"How many of you?" the guard said.

"Twenty-seven," Lance said. The guard banged the flat of his hand against the bar but this time Lance didn't flinch, his arms folded under the sweep of his makeshift cloak.

"How many?" the Altean said again, and Lance shrugged.

"Fourteen? Thirty-six? Oh, I know - one hundred and one. And some of them even have spots!" Lance stuck out his tongue at the end of the sentence, and the guard muttered something under his breath that was probably an oath but Lance didn't recognize it, he'd have to try to remember it for later use.

The second guard, though, he threw the new prisoner into the cell on the other side of Lance, slamming the door shut. "Keep searching the grounds," the first Altean said to the second. "There could still be more of them."

"Leave no pillow unturned," Lance called after them. "We're hiding everywhere. Even in the head!" He turned to the new arrival in the cell beside his, and put his hands on his hips. "Oh, why am I _not_ surprised," he said. He looked back over his shoulder to Keith, who had transitioned to the wall of bars that separated his and Lance's cell. "Look who it is," Lance said.

"Quarking _quiznak_ , what are you two lunkheads doing here?" Rian refused to even look in their direction, shuffling so that his back was to Lance, head down. "I thought you'd be stuck in the boarding house when I disabled the locks."

"Oh, that was you, was it?" Lance said. "Look, I'm sure we're all happy for this wonderful reunion but I want to get the fuck out of this memory core and forget this whole thing was ever a _thing_ so, just—" Lance gestured with one hand. "Do whatever magic-y Altean thing you do to get us out of here."

"That only works for someone outside the memory core," Rian said. "Besides, I haven't done what I needed to do yet and this stupid thing didn't give me a paladin trial like it was _supposed_ to."

Lance looked back at Keith, who had his hands on the bars loosely. Keith was staring intently at Rian with a strange expression on his shadowed face. Lance could see his ears shifting just a little. "Yeah, way to go," Lance said. "You screwed up being ... what, a paladin-candidate? How did you manage _that_ , I thought you were already one."

"I _am_ a paladin-candidate," Rian said hotly. " _This isn't what happened._ "

"So how did you screw it up then?" Lance taunted lightly, amusing himself with the way that the diminutive Altean was getting hot around the collar. "I mean, you did _something_ to end up here with us winners."

Rian's head shot up. He turned and glared at Lance, before putting both of his hands on the bars. "Why do you _think_ ," Rian hissed, his eyes gone narrow, but the soft gold glow still escaping.

 

* * *

 

Pidge had her bayard in hand and was aiming it at the door while it was sliding open. She eyeballed the door control but before she could use the grapple function of her weapon Allura's voice caught her by complete surprise. " _Pidge_!"

"Princess?" Pidge said, frozen in spot for a second. Allura was in fact standing in the doorway, one hand on the exterior panel and wearing her own Altean armor. Pidge lowered her bayard and _stared_ as she stepped into the room and hit the door control, closing them off. She was expecting _Matt._

"Thank goodness you're okay," Allura said, scanning the room for potential threats and then looking at the computer behind Pidge. "Where is your brother?"

"Gone," Pidge said flatly. "To rescue the prisoners. Allura, what are you _doing_ here? This is the Galra _prison ship-_ " She yanked the cable free from her suit and the data transfer halted permanently at ninety-four percent. "Without a _weapon, even_ -"

"The frigate is coming out of orbit toward the castle ship," Allura said, matter-of-fact. "We need to leave, now. You get to your lion, I'll find your brother and we can get as many prisoners onto the shuttle as we can manage-"

"No," Pidge said. She closed the plate on her arm.

" _No?_ " Allura repeated, stopped mid-stream in surprise.

"I wouldn't be a very good paladin if I let you go deeper into an enemy ship unarmed while I _fled_ ," Pidge said. She shifted her bayard to her dominant hand and kicked the console off, leaving it looking mostly-undisturbed. Her malware was only partially uploaded, but partial was better than none at all.

Allura stood between her and the door, arms folded, expression furious. "Really?" Pidge said.

"Your fellow paladins are outside prepared to defend the Castle of Lions with their lives," Allura said. "I am not unaware of the danger I put myself in, but it is necessary risk."

"My brother-" Pidge started to say, but Allura interrupted her.

"Get to your lion," she said sternly. "That is an _order."_

Pidge's brows drew together. "Fine," she said hotly. "When you find my brother, kick his ass for me." She slapped her hand atop her helmet, making sure it was set right on her head, and stormed past Allura toward the door.

 


	86. Chapter 86

Keith started _laughing._

Lance looked over his shoulder, through the bars of Altean brig, and frowned. He had heard Keith laugh before – admittedly, not _often,_ because Keith could be an emo broody little shit sometimes, but that was entirely not the reaction he was expecting. Keith sat back down again in his cell, his back to the bars and facing both Lance and Rian and covered his mouth with one hand and just kept laughing. "Okay, so," Lance said, still staring at Keith, brow furrowed and wondering if maybe they should clear the area because Keith sounded almost hysterical. " _That's_ not normal."

He looked back through the bars at Rian, who had turned his face away, arms folded, and had put himself as far from Lance as possible in the tiny, single-person holding cells. He frowned, looking at the Altean's dark hair and pointed ears, and then looked back to Keith, who was still chuckling. "Keith, buddy, you're freaking me out here."

"Sorry, sorry," Keith wheezed, pawing at his face with the back of his gloved hands, streaking tears into the fine purple fuzz that covered his face, and that was even less normal. Everyone's gone crazy but hey, they were in a memory core and Lance could roll with that, at the very least. He put his forehead against the cool metal bars and stared at Rian thoughtfully while his boyfriend quietly lost his marbles in the next cell. "So, you're part Galra too," he said, and Rian's head jerked and his ears actually _twitched_ , _that_ was cool, he'd never seen Allura's elf-ears do that.

"Say that again," the young Altean hissed, both hands clenched into fists and already in full-on _fight me_ mode. "Say something so slanderous about a royal Altean house and it won't just be the _guards_ you'll have to worry about-"

"Whoa, whoa," Lance said. "Calm down there, short stack. I'm not worried about the guards, anyway." He glanced back again at Keith, whose terminal case of the giggles seemed to be winding down, at least. "You okay back there?"

"Good, I'm good," Keith said, but didn't get up.

"Okay," Lance said, still watching Keith. "You sure?"

Keith nodded and Lance sighed out an amused breath, then looked back to Rian, who looked like he wanted to murder Lance with his expression. The only thing that was really different about him was the unnatural gold hue of his eyes, they glowed softly, and Lance couldn't make out his pupils. It was the same with Keith's eyes, but that seemed to pair better with the purple fuzz and large, fluffy ears that poked through his dark hair. On the Altean, it just seemed ... wrong. Ethereal, but unsettling. "Gotta say, I _love_ the hypocrisy, tho'," Lance said casually. "You're all 'a Galra can't be a Paladin! Grr!' and then you turn out to be part Galran yourself. Tell me, how exactly did you expect _that_ to work out for you?"

Rian's brow was already pulled together, his expression pinched and stormy. But then something unexpected happen. His face crumpled just a bit, and Lance started in surprise as tears started escaping the corners of Rian's eyes. "I'm _not_ ," Rian hissed, and then his voice hitched. " _Galran._ " He pushed his palms into his eyes and covered that glow furiously, and Lance looked back to Keith because he really, really didn't have the requisite experience to deal with this. Girl crying because he was so beautiful? That he could handle. Hunk crying because Lance stepped on his casserole trying to climb over the table? Okay, yeah, that was a dick move on his part but still, no sweat. Alien asshole refusing to acknowledge a potentially unknown part of his heritage? Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Keith put one hand on the bar of his cell and hauled himself to his feet. The hood he had buried himself in had slipped down a bit and one purple ear had escaped, twitching in his hair, and he had an intense look on his face, nose wrinkled. Then he relaxed a bit. "You are," he said, head cocked. "You smell really strongly of it, are you suppressing the rest?"

Rian's hands flew away from his eyes and he _snarled_ at Keith and oh, _there_ were the sharp pointy teeth. " _Half-breed,_ " he hissed at Keith, who didn't seem nearly as perturbed as he had the first time. "All Galra should _die_." His rage was diluted somewhat, by the fact that there were still tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. He swiped angrily at his eyes, and then turned his back on Lance and Keith both, arms folded.

"Okay," Lance said, and looked back at Keith. "So, _now_ what?"

"Don't look at me," Keith said. "This isn't a Paladin trial, right? We're just in his memory. How did you get out of," and a pained look crossed Keith's face, if Lance hadn't been looking at him he wouldn't have seen it, "Shiro's memory?"

"Well," Lance said, matter-of-fact. "I got shot, I kinda don't remember."

Keith _definitely_ winced at that. "Did Shiro ... _do_ anything specific, since it was his memory?"

"We _did_ change the course of events," Lance said. "We got off the Galra ship, at least." He tapped a finger to his lips. "So, if we change the outcome of the memory, maybe that triggers it to let us out? It's as good an angle as any, I supposed." He glanced back to Rian, who still had his back to them. "Okay, Fuzzypants, Jr.; we're in your memory here. What happened?"

The Altean remained silent.

Lance shrugged at Keith, who sighed. "It's your own fault for being an ass," Keith said to Lance, and Lance placed one palm on his breast, offended at the thought. Keith suddenly pulled his hood back up, his ear and profile disappearing into shadow and Lance turned at the official-sounding click of boots. A tall Altean with loose, flowing, copper-colored hair was approaching, flanked by two armed guards. Lance leaned his shoulder back into the bars but did not approach the front of his cell as the retinue stopped before the door to Keith's cell.

"Galra," the copper-haired Altean spoke, betraying a voice that sounded younger than expected. "Your presence here," and he glanced toward Lance, and past Lance to Rian; "is quite troublesome. Are you a fugitive from the Empire, or a spy?"

"Let's go with neither," Keith said.

"Well, I mean, you _are_ kind of a fugitive," Lance said to Keith with a tilt of his head. "Zarkon would pay out the butt to get his hands on you. Or me, for that matter," Lance said with a small preen. Keith rolled his eyes, but there was a small noise of alarm from the gathered Alteans. One of the guards struck the metal bars with their halberd.

"You shall _not_ say that name in the presence of the _prince_ ," she said haughtily.

"What, Zarkon?" Lance said.

The guard struck the metal bars again, with a mighty clang. Keith sighed and said, " _Lance."_

"What? It's not like saying Zarkon is going to make him materialize here."

 _Clang._ "Silence!"

"I mean, if it did that would be a pretty nifty party trick. It'd be that much easier to defeat him too. Zarkon, I mean."

"Lance, please." Keith seemed to be enjoying the exaggerated discomfort of the copper-haired Altean. "I think you're making the prince uncomfortable by saying Zarkon's name."

This time when the guard struck the bars, one of them actually chipped. The Altean put his arm out to stop further damage to the cells, and Keith and Lance exchanged amused glances. "Stop, _stop_ ," the prince said. "They're doing it on purpose, stop."

Lance blinked innocently. "Allura isn't afraid of Zarkon's name."

The silence that followed his statement was absolute, like all the oxygen had been sucked from the room. The prince whirled on Lance's cell, his loose clothing billowing, and he put one hand on the bars at the front. " _What_ did you say?"

"I said," Lance said, arms folded. "Princess Allura isn't afraid of Zarkon's name. No wonder everyone thinks the Alteans have died out, have you all have been hiding and cowering in fear of the Galra for ten thousand years? That's sad."

"Shut up, you idiot," Rian said from behind him, and the prince looked past Lance, eyes narrowed at the small dark-haired Altean.

"Oh, it's _you_ ," he said flatly. "Revealed your true self at last, I see. I knew you weren't suitable to be a candidate for Paladin."

"Yeah, that I don't get at all either," Lance said. "So you guys have a whole candidate-for-Paladin thing going on here, but you don't ... go looking for the Lions? Do you even go off-world? How do you expect to fight with Voltron if you stay hidden away like you are? That just doesn't make any sense-"

"And what would a group of _Galra_ know about our savior Voltron?" the prince sneered. "I came here to offer you asylum, but I see that you'll just spit it back in our faces, waving the name of our sacred Princess in such a vulgar manner-"

Lance looked over at Rian. "Is this guy for real?"

"Absolutely," Rian said. "The Paladin-candidates don't leave the planet. If they're worthy, the Lions will awaken, and come to them."

 _"Silence!_ " the copper-haired Altean thundered.

Lance and Keith exchanged unimpressed looks, then they both looked at Rian, ignoring the Altean prince altogether. "So you go through all these trials to be a Paladin-candidate and then you, what, sit around and look pretty? That's stupid, that's-" Keith snorted. "That's _frustrating._ "

"Why do you think we stole a freighter and went off-planet," Rian mumbled.

The door to Keith's cell opened and they all looked in that direction. "Hands out, prisoner," the guard instructed, holding a pair of magnetic cuffs in their hands. Keith was clearly judging the Altean, looking the guard up and down and Lance said, "ah, let him cuff ya, fuzzypants. I want to see something other than the inside of a cell in a memory core."

"You just saw the entire _city_ ," Keith said, but held out his hands and allowed the magnetic cuffs to be closed over his wrists. "Plus, whatever the hell you saw in _your_ trial."

The other guard opened Lance's cell door, a pair of magcuffs in hand as well. "Iverson," Lance said, holding his wrists out obediently. He wrinkled his nose, looking at Keith. "And the _Garrison_. I'd rather see the cell."

"Hey!" Rian said as they opened the door to his cell as well. "I'm not with those freaks, leave me alone."

"You've betrayed your true nature," the copper-haired Altean said. "Clearly in league with the rest of Galra spies." He tapped one finger above the pale violet face marking and gave a chilling grin. "Bring them all to the Council room, I'll decide what to do with them there." That said, the prince turned on one heel and stormed imperiously out of the brig.

"Nice guy," Lance said. "Hey, he said Galra _spies_. Do I get to be Galra too?" The guard yanked Lance from the his cell, and with enough force that he almost collided with Keith already in the walkway. "That's kinda cool."

Keith sighed. "It's not something to be proud of, Lance."

This time Lance did lean into him, bumping their shoulders together, padded by the thick makeshift cloaks. "Anything that makes my boyfriend awesome is automatically cool in my book." Keith ducked his head and looked away but Lance could tell he was pleased by the compliment. "Besides," Lance added, grinning. "I _swallow_. That definitely means I have some Galra in me."

"Why do you have to ruin nice things," Keith said, "by being _you?_ "

"It's a gift," Lance said, as the guards shoved them forward.

* * *

 

Turned out the Council room was somewhat familiar to both Keith and Lance; it was a modified great hall area within the ancient ship. In the Castle of Lions that space was a common room; however here it had a much different setup – including several empty throne-like chairs that were arranged in semi-circle. The prince, as Lance had started referring to him in his head, sat in the second from the right. The other four remained empty.

There were a handful of other Alteans around; they varied in size and shape and color. Lance found the multi-hued hair a little fascinating, _he_ wanted pale blue hair, that looked so cool. It would compliment his skin tone nicely. He made a mental note to see if Pidge knew anything about chemicals and what he might have to exchange as a bribe for her to whip up some hair dye.

"You aren't gonna wait for the rest of the Council," Rian called from behind Keith. "Just you, huh, Ysander?"

"That is _Prince_ Ysander to you," the copper-haired Altean said mildly.

Lance squinted his eyes at the prince, and then looked back at Rian. "Ohhhhh," he said. " _I_ get it. Rivals, right?" He elbowed Keith in the side, or at least attempted to because Keith had anticipated that particular course of events and stepped out of elbowing room. Lance pouted at Keith for a moment then straightened and held his cuffed-together wrists out at the prince. "You're gonna want to take these off," he said, conversationally.

"Oh?" The prince said. "And why would I want to do that, Galra?"

Keith sighed exaggeratedly, and Lance smirked. "Okay, so I want to get this straight," Lance said. "You are all survivors of the Galra's destruction of your homeworld, right? From ten thousand years ago?" At the prince's nod, Lance looked around. The mix of attendents weren't paying much attention to them so it wasn't like he had _that_ much of an audience to work with anyway. "You guys had this great and powerful weapon that was hidden away by _the_ royal family. And in all that time you've built up some kind of psuedo-religious cult around the Paladins and the significance of Voltron, but no one thought to go _look_ for this great and powerful Galra-destroying weapon?" He shrugged his shoulders loosely. "Am I on the right track, here?"

"Please stop him," Rian said to Keith, and Keith just shrugged his shoulders. "He's going to get us killed."

"We're in a memory core," Keith said. "Maybe he's just trying to incite someone to shoot him. I would, if I had a blaster."

"Come to the point, Galra. I'm bored of you."

"Okay, see there's that, too," Lance held up a second finger. "I'm not _actually_ Galra, I'm just mated to one." He lowered his hands and tugged on the cloak he was still wearing, then sighed dramatically. "See, this is why I wanted you to uncuff me, it looks _so_ much cooler when I just whip off the cloak." That said, he still managed to pull the makeshift cloak completely off, letting it puddle to the ground around his feet. "And here's the third thing," Lance said, as the guards shifted a bit and pointed their weapons at him.

"Where did you get that armor?" Ysander demanded, sitting upright on the makeshift throne, his expression gone straight from irritated into angry. "How _dare_ you defile-"

"Hey," Rian snapped. "You're not allowed to speak that way to Paladins of Voltron, _Prince_ Ysander."

Keith glanced back at Rian, surprised at the defense but Rian was glaring at the copper-haired Altean with such venom that maybe it wasn't a good idea to redirect that flow of hatred.

"These are _not_ Paladins," Ysander said, coming to his feet. "The candidates are selected by the Council; and certainly we would never allow _Galra_ to take the holy title again. They have stolen the armor, strip them of it!"

One of the guards moved forward, but the others looked between Lance and Ysander with clearly conflicting emotions. Lance ignored the guards and held out his hands, still bound at the wrist by the magnetic restraints. "Sorry 'bout your luck, Prince Ysander," Lance said. "But me an' Keith, we're Paladins of Voltron, designated by _the_ Princess Allura, of Altea. You know, the ruler of your destroyed home planet. Somehow, I think she outranks you just a little."

"Is that really the armor of a Paladin?" one of the guards asked, sounding slightly awed.

"If they were _really_ the Paladins of Voltron," Ysander said, arm outstretched. "They would have the bayards that signified their status-"

Lance looked back over his shoulder at Keith, then they both looked at the Altean prince. Simultaneously, hands held out, the bayards manifested from the storage system of their suits.

"Oh, _quiznack_ ," the prince muttered.


	87. Chapter 87

Keith inhaled a long breath through his nose, looking around the curve of the arena's wall. It was a polished white stone, once immaculate but now covered with scuffs and stains and actual chunks taken from it; the edges buffed down to prevent additional damage. It was also a good fifteen feet high -- not out of the realm of possibility to scale thanks to the jet boosters on their back, but the added security of a dome sat atop the ring prevented any thoughts of escape. The dome itself was made of a translucent material that let daylight filter in from the planet's star, but tinted so they couldn't see their audience. Keith could hear them, though, his sensitive ears twitching at the dull murmur of alien voices speaking an alien tongue.

Lance was leaned casually back against the wall, arms folded. The guards had taken their cloaks, checking for additional weapons and attempted to take their bayards but the weapon had a self-defense mechanism of returning to the digital storage system within the suit, so they could not be entirely de-armed. Keith felt naked without the foul-smelling cloak he had been wrapped in, his purple furred face and large ears protruding from his dark hair now available for all the world to see. He flicked his ears again, canted back, a display of his current emotion that he couldn't stifle.

"It'll be _fine_ ," Lance said, recognizing Keith's unease. He was entirely unconcerned, he didn't even _smell_ nervous. He also didn't have the distant recollection of being lined up as small children for their carer's amusement, forced to fight until they couldn't stand any longer. Keith shuddered and pushed that memory back behind its wall, because he wasn't that person any more, no matter the color of his fur. "So we fight the Prince's dudes, prove our worth, and go home. Seems easy enough." Lance gestured to the ring in front of them, empty save for its walls and the doors at the other end, where their mystery combatants were waiting.

"Lance," Keith said warily, hands loose at his sides, hands curled into fists. "When we get out of this memory core, I'm gonna fucking deck you."

Lance looked insulted. "Hey, this isn't _my_ fault."

"Yeah it is, Mister Oh Look We're ~Paladins~," Rian muttered from behind them.

Their third wheel was sitting in the loose, gritty sand, his back to the white stone wall and hands draped over his knees, head tilted forward. Rian had put up a fight before he'd been thrown in behind them, protesting the entire time that he wasn't with them. The guard had little sympathy for the Altean, muttering something about Galra sticking together, and shoved Rian unceremoniously through the door that Lance and Keith had walked through of their own accord. Keith glanced back at him, felt the sting of a familiar scent and Rian glanced up, golden eyes narrowed.

Aside from the eyes, and the fangs he had developed, Rian also had a soft fuzz over his features that only showed as a very pale purple in direct, clear sunlight. The rest of the time it simply looked the same tone of his skin. "So this is one of your candidate for Paladin trials, right?" Keith said, to keep himself distracted from the buzz of conversation above and around him, threatening to overwhelm. "What can we expect?"

Rian snorted, and looked back down at the sand. "They'll send in gladiator bots first, which are usually easy pickings. They save the prisoners for last."

Lance tilted forward. "Excuse me? _Prisoners?_ " He glanced at Keith, who shared the same expression. "What _prisoners?_ "

"Galra, usually. The planetary defense force eliminates every scout ship that comes this way - we're on the edge of a far quadrant, and there are a couple irregular black holes and a dwarf star that's ready to go supernova between here and the regular trade lanes. Ships just disappear in the Far Worlds, everyone knows it." Keith got the impression that if Rian had ears like his, he would flick them nonchalantly. "Galra don't deserve to live, anyway."

"Paladin trials are just gladiator combat," Keith said, amazed. "Seriously?"

"This is the last one," Rian said. "You gotta be good enough to survive this far."

Keith felt sick. He looked at Lance, who looked a little ill himself. "What the hell," Lance said. "I'm not executing their prisoners for them."

"Then they'll kill you," Rian said. "And maybe we can get out of this fucking nightmare." He folded his arms over his knees and rested his chin on them, curled into a small, dark ball. Lance and Keith exchanged glances again, and then looked across the expanse of the arena, toward the large, closed doors. With a low, creaking noise they started to shift on their hinges.

* * *

 

Coran kept half an eye on the monitor feed from the training bay. He'd left it up, the memory core in the corner of the picture, just so he could jump on it the _moment_ he saw the Paladins tumble out of the ancient machine. However, it was not the main draw of his attention at the moment, instead watching the large, zoomed in monitor as the Galra cruiser broke orbit with Eaphus, engines powered to their magenta-hued fullest. To the left of his main screen he had visual feeds on both the Black and Yellow Paladins. "Looks like they're heading for you now, Paladins," he reported, hand flying over the translucent controls at his fingertips. "Princess, what's your status?"

There was silence from the audio-only feed on the right side of his display. Coran's eyes darted to it, widening slightly. "Princess?"

"I'm fine, Coran," Allura's voice was calm but soft. "There are more guards in this portion of the ship, I must be careful." There was another silence on the line, but he could hear the click of boots on tile, either Allura's or someone else's, he couldn't be sure. "Do you still have the commlink location feed up?"

He did. Coran brought the map up, showing a cross-section of the prison ship based on antiquated blueprints. "The Green Paladin and her brother seem to be separated," Coran reported, tapping a button to locate Allura on the map by her comm transmission as well. A small pink dot appeared, closer to one of the green dots than the other.

"I'm aware of that, thanks," Allura said. "Pidge should be heading back to where she stashed the Green Lion; it's her brother I'm concerned with."

The other dot, in the bowels of the ship, had been stationary a while. "He seems to be a few levels down." Coran squinted at it, and frowned. "He hasn't moved in a few dobashes, he could be in trouble." A pause. "You should be cautious, Princess."

"Thank you, Coran, I will." Allura didn't say anything else, and she must have cut her mic because he couldn't hear the feedback from footsteps or the soft hum of background noise from the Galra ship. Coran glanced back up at the main screen; then flicked his gaze over to the left. Hunk was staring into the video commlink nervously. "So Allura found Pidge?" he asked. "What about Matt?"

"No time to worry about Holt now," Illianya's voice came from the second audio feed, directly below the Princess's. "The cruiser has started discharging its drone starfighters. It's time to party."

"Pidge, are you aboard the Green Lion yet?" Shiro asked, and Coran's eyes flickered to the map he still had up. The small green dot was moving quickly in one of the top levels of the ship. There was a rustle and then Pidge's voice came through the commlink, in that same hushed, cautious tone that Allura had.

"Not yet," she said, and the dot on the board went stationary. "I might be a few ticks, there seems to be a small problem. Tiny one. Pretty inconsequential." Another click, and the static dropped out of her audio feed, the tone clearer. "Yeah, definitely a couple minutes. Hang on."

"Hang on?" Hunk said, a rise in his voice. "Hang _on?_ "

"Pidge, what's going on?" Shiro said, voice level.

"There's - oh, I think it's about fifteen if I'm eyeballing it correctly --" a pause on the line. "Sorry, seventeen. Guards around where I stashed Green."

Coran felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. "Are they aware they've surrounded a Voltron Lion?" he asked, watching the Princess's pink dot descend lower into the bowels of the enemy ship.

"I don't think so," Pidge's voice had dropped further in tone. "I have her cloaking shield on, plus the particle barrier -- it's the barrier that's causing the problem, the guards keep kicking it and it sparks but doesn't reveal what's behind it." Another pause, and then a derisive snort from Pidge. "I _knew_ it was strange that there weren't that many guards patrolling, their buddies must have radioed them in to come look at this crazy anomaly in one of the launch bays."

"You'll have to create some sort of distraction," Coran said. "Perhaps if you can craft a Viluvk whistle-"

"Relax," Pidge said, and though her tone was soft it was calm. She popped up on a video commlink display to the right of Coran's screen, above the audio-only feeds for Allura and Illianya. "I've got this, it'll just take a couple minutes." She winked into the display and held up a finger, about to start typing into the small keyboard displayed above the forearm of her armor's gauntlet, where the camera was.

Then, abruptly, a loud klaxon started blaring in the background. Pidge's face froze, then she flung herself back against the wall, the camera angle spinning dizzily. "Pidge? What's happening?" Shiro said, and Pidge reached down and disabled the camera just that quickly; the klaxon still blaring through the now audio-only channel. "Pidge?"

* * *

 

The frequency of patrolling guards escalated the deeper into the ship that Allura ventured. Galra architecture hadn't changed much; the long, curved hallways did not feature smooth uninterrupted walls; instead every few meters there was an almost decorative divider. It gave the hallway the appearance of running down the inside of a vertebrae column; with the main power conduit running along the ceiling like the spinal cord itself. Allura rested her shoulder against one such divider, her hand flat along its edge. She had a regular plasma pistol in her hand, not a rifle, and she kept it close to her chest.

Two guard robots, completely automated, clicked past. They were going the opposite direction, their backs toward her. The lumbering robots did not seem to do an automated sweep -- just walking in a straight line down the corridor in a long, exaggerated loop. If an escape alert went out it would be different, their scanners would detect any lifeforms in the corridor that didn't belong there; but for the moment at least, there was no need to even think that someone would be stupid enough to infiltrate the prison ship.

She found the slim figure clad all in black not long after. He was standing, clear as day in a corridor, where there was an access computer. It was beside a large, heavy door, that like led into the cell block area where the most important prisoners were kept. He had one hand resting on the console, and his face was angled up, the glow of the screen reflected in the opaque curve of his dark helmet.

"Matt!" Allura said, relief flooding her voice despite herself. He jumped a little and turned, but she couldn't see his face behind the tinted visor. "We've got to get out of here, did you free any prisoners?"

He shook his head and touched the side of his helmet, which dimmed the tint so she could see the features that were all too similar to Pidge's. "No, most are kept behind far more complex cell blocks than even the ship I escaped from." He folded his arms and looked at the small monitor, which showed a split screen of at least a dozen cells, full of aliens of all shapes and descriptions. "Dad's not here, though," Matt said softly.

Allura stared hard at the monitor. Because of its size, it was hard to make out the distinguishing features on most of the aliens, but very few were even bipedal, nevermind Terran in form. There was a pull inside her chest - they were inside the Galra ship, a few blast doors from freeing the prisoners, she couldn't be standing here even entertaining the suggestion that they turn and flee, even with Voltron in danger. "Is there any way to get to them?"

"Not without a master key," Matt said. "I don't have access into this terminal, if Pidge is still rooted in to that main system we might be able to get in a backdoor, but without a Galra even present to unlock the console..." Matt put his hand forlornly on the red handprint, but its glow did not change. "All we can do is look at them."

"Maybe not _all_ ," Allura said. She set her blaster on the console and took a deep breath. Then she placed her hand on the handprint, and focused.

There were Alteans of the noble house who had centuries to hone their craft, making the transition between species easy and nearly instantaneous. Unfortunately, Allura hadn't had time to learn under any of the masters, and her shape shifting ability was a little more clunky and a lot less subtle. She couldn't just change the chemistry of her hand, but her entire body as she assumed a Galra's form and features, growing in size beside her companion. Her flight suit was modified to keep up with her Altean DNA and as she grew her suit grew with her, keeping its snug fit and not stretching out nor tearing. As the change completed, the handprint scanner suddenly beeped affirmatively, and unlocked the console - not that Matt even noticed, staring bug-eyed at Allura like he'd never seen an Altean shapeshift before. "What?" she said, self-conscious and little sharply.

"How did you..." Matt gestured at her. "How did you do _that?_ "

"All Alteans have the ability to shapeshift," she said. "We are a chameleon-like race-"

He shook his head emphatically. "I've _never_ seen Rian or Ilya or any of the others do _that_."

The references to others -  _other Alteans -_ made her smile despite herself. "No one has shown you this ability? I suppose it's not needed as much around others of our kind." She tapped the console. "I don't know if we'll be able to get them all to the flight bay before anyone discovers what we've done, but..." she typed several commands quickly into the now unlocked-console, opening all the cell doors. They were able to get a first-hand view of the surprise, and wary delight on the alien features of the Galra prisoners as they realized that the system holding them in place had been compromised.

"Quite simple," Allura said, and moved to tap the final commands, unlocking the doors of the cells without camera feeds. Abruptly, the last one was labeled something in Galra she didn't have time to try to translate, and when she flipped the lock on that cage, alarm klaxons went off immediately. "Oh," Allura said, quite calmly given the shrieking sirens, "Quiznack."


	88. Chapter 88

More guards rushed into the launch bay than left, their weapons sweeping the wide open space with organized precision. Pidge flattened herself atop one of the scaffolds that ran along the far wall, but while they were looking around and scanning with weapons they didn’t appear to be using any type of life-form scanners, otherwise she would have been discovered by now.

With the alarms blaring the ‘crazy anomaly’ in the launch bay became less a curiosity and more a concern; and after five or so more guards came and went two came in carrying a large box between them and followed by a Galra who stood at least half a head taller. That had to be their commander. Pidge swore under her breath again, and squinted at the display that hovered above her forearm as her Paladin armor scanned the equipment. Of course; it was some sort of barrier disruptor.

If they had a barrier disruptor that could interrupt the particle barrier on the Voltron Lions there would have been a Galra in the cockpit of the Red Lion ages ago. Pidge wasn’t particularly worried about _that_ ; she figured with the alarm going off constantly that at least half the guards would disperse. That was _not_ happening.

Very carefully, with the volume turned down, she switched her comm back on. “Okay, quick update,” she said, wincing as she caught the tail end of Hunk screaming. “This is gonna be a _little_ more complicated than originally planned. Holding pattern, guys.”

“Pidge, if it’s too dangerous get out of there,” Shiro said. “We can’t afford for you to get captured.”

“I’m not leaving Green,” she said. Pidge pushed herself up on her elbows and scanned along the ceiling, noting how the scaffolding ran up the walls toward the top of the launch bay. “And they won’t catch me.”

She switched off her comm unit before anyone could respond to that, then flipped her computer from processing mode to contacting the Green Lion. She had been working on this particular patchwork system for a while; and hadn’t really had a chance to test out most of its functions. No time like the present for beta testing. “All right,” she said softly and mostly to herself, as she typed a command and ran her finger down a virtual toggle, emulating a switch. “Work with me here, Green.”

The vibration of the Green Lion’s amused pur echoed throughout the launch bay. Pidge grinned at its response. The noise threw the Galra into an uproar, because while it was absolutely obvious that the foreign noise had come from behind the shielded particle barrier they still hadn’t figured out what the heck they were dealing with, and now it was making noises. Several of the guards retreated, in as orderly a fashion as they could muster, while the two who stood with the Galra commander held their position with the disruptor now situated on the floor and one of them working its controls frantically.

Pidge shifted. No one was scanning the launch bay now, everyone was focused on the anomaly. She sat completely upright and kept typing quickly. “All right girl,” she said. “Let’s give them a show that they won’t forget!”

With one decisive swipe of her fingers across the input pad, the particle barrier and cloaking shield all dropped at once. The commander raised his fist in victory, only to drop it when he realized he was looking down the maw of the Green Lion, crouched on the deck of the flight bay. The Lion’s tail blaster was raised up and the blast shielding built into Pidge’s helmet darkened automatically, saving her eyes from the brilliant plasma burst in an enclosed environment. Her ears still ringing, she touched the side of her helmet and the shielding resumed its usual transparency.

Green had shifted out of her crouch and resumed a seated, alert posture … waiting for pilot input. It was good to know that her computer linkup with the main system of the Green Lion was functional; but the heavy, thick smell of ozone and carbonized matter was a little sickening. Pidge got to her feet and put both her hands on the rail of the scaffolding; the guards who had wisely retreated before the Voltron Lion was revealed were returning now; and they brought backup -- in the form of the autonomous drone soldiers. Pidge was over the side of the scaffolding in an instant, her bayard in hand as it transformed into its grapple form. She could hear the shouts of the soldiers who had noticed the movement, as well as the retort of their weapons, so she threw herself into the air, aiming the grapple at the ceiling.

A plasma bolt struck her, hard enough that she twisted in mid-air. The bayard automatically reverted the moment her fingers slipped off it, and it digitized right back into her suit.

Pidge didn’t hit the ground.

The Green Lion moved on its own, without any direct input from her or her suit. Pidge slammed against the side of its head and scrabbled, her left arm gone completely numb and hanging limp against her side. Pidge dug her fingers against the slick green outer coating on the Lion and struggled to pull herself up. Distantly, she realized that the particle barrier was up again and plasma bolts from the Galra weapons were pinging off it, but she was more concerned with not falling to death from the head of her ride.

After far too much a struggle she finally pulled herself up onto the Green Lion’s snout, and rolled onto her back; her left arm flopping against her chest. “ _Fuck_ ,” Pidge said, panting raggedly; and then pushed herself upright.

* * *

Allura kept her back to the wall as Matt crouched low. There were guards rushing past the hallway, down the main artery of the prison ship; their angry yelling echoing down the corridor. Not one split off down the short alcove that they had taken refuge in; it dead-ended in a console with no means of escape or concealment, other than the ridged dividers. The escaped prisoners had stampeded the main exit of the brig, causing bedlam, and that was where the current conflict was taking place. Neither Allura nor Matt could see that far down the corridor to witness what, precisely, was going on -- but there was a constant ping of blaster fire being exchanged, so clearly some of the prisoners had already laid hands on weapons.

“Nothing we can do at this point but wait,” Matt said. “Can’t get to the prisoners, can’t get out without revealing our presence.” He glanced back at Allura. “I don’t suppose you can morph that suit into Galra gear like you can your skin?”

She shook her head. “The only transmutory properties my flight suit carries is that it changes to match my size. It can’t transform into another suit entirely.” She touched one hand to her helmet to reactive her comm. “Pidge, have you gotten to the Green Lion yet?”

“Something like that,” Pidge’s voice was curt. Matt glanced up at Allura, and while the shielding on his full-face helmet was mostly transparent the flare of the overhead light masked most of his expression. “Are you guys to the-” there was a sharp inhale, and Pidge grunted before completing her thought. “To the shuttle?”

Matt touched the comm on his own suit, located on the wrist. “Katie, are you _hurt?_ ” he asked, the anger winning out over the worry in his tone.

“Just a flesh wound,” Pidge said, clearly trying for flippant. Allura closed her eyes and tilted her head, trying to focus her energies on the Green Lion and Pidge, within its cockpit. She was unsuccessful. “I’ll be inside in a few ticks,” Pidge continued. “You guys ready to get out of here?”

“We’re-” Matt started to say, when Allura put her free hand on his shoulder and he stopped.

“We’ll see you back at the castle, Pidge,” Allura said, her voice absolutely casual. She cut the comm feed and looked down at Matt, who stared at her a moment before doing the same.

“The moment that she makes contact with the others your majordomo will tell her where we really are,” Matt said. “What is the _point-_ ”

“Believe it or not, I have some idea what I am doing,” Allura said. She leaned past the divider; while the flurry of soldiers and drones hadn’t really diminished, they were no longer moving with the same frantic pace. “Sooner or later someone will trace the prison break to this console.”

“Are you suggesting we move out now?” Matt said. “‘Cause we’ll never make it through that many. They’ll have stunners and taze wands.”

“You’ve been on prison ships before,” Allura said. “And presumably escaped from one. I trust you have an idea on how to bypass the main arteries of the ship.”

He glared at her, and then glanced back at the main corridor. He frowned, looked down at the tile and then looked up, at the thick bundle of cords encased in hard coating that ran along the ceiling of all the hallways. Then he looked back at Allura, and tapped the wrist on his black flight suit twice. “I might have _some_ ideas,” he said.

* * *

The Galra frigate was large, probably larger than any of the ships they’d fought yet. As Shiro snaprolled the Black Lion away from the flight of drone starfighters on his six he saw the quick bursts of blue light that was Hunk’s plasma cannon impact on the ship’s shields. The particle barrier that the Galra had on this particular frigate was strong enough to withstand pretty much anything they could throw at it from a distance -- they would have to get close, inside the shields to do any real damage.

He rolled the Black Lion into a dive, and then came up and around to starboard in a horizontal loop that brought him back head to head with the pilotless starfighters that had been on his exhaust. He spitted one on his crosshairs and hit the trigger, then swept the target straight through the flight. One after another the starfighters erupted into explosions, a fiery light that was extinguished immediately by the cold vacuum of space.

“There’s too many of them,” Hunk said, and the pitch in his voice had gone up. “The shields on this thing are too strong, Shiro, we need Voltron to take it down!”

“That’s not an option right now,” Shiro said, eyes fixed on the next flight of starfighters as the Black Lion wove through clusters of starfighters with a grace of its own. The Galra didn’t need to know that they were two pilots down at the moment, but with Hunk on the open comm frequency it was only a matter of time. “Jawblades out, Hunk!”

The Yellow Lion swooped over the Black Lion. Hunk’s Lion didn’t have the speed nor grace of the Black Lion, but its firepower and armor were definitely superior. “I’ve got lead,” Hunk said, his attention now focused on the mammoth ship ahead of them. Shiro relinquished the lead and pulled back on the throttle, keeping to Hunk’s seven as he paced him, the plasma blaster on the tip of the Black Lion’s tail keeping their pursuit back.

“I’ve got your back,” Shiro said, as they approached on the port side of the ship.

Before they could get close enough to the frigate to do any damage, a series of magenta-hued explosions began along the underside of the ship. Without a word the Yellow Lion changed course toward the trail of explosions and Shiro kept on his wing, the jawblades of the Lions making impact with the already damaged hull of the ship and tearing it open along the seam. It wouldn’t be enough to bring down the frigate, but it was certainly enough to keep the Galra inside busy; and thebusier they were, the fewer drone fighters they could launch.

The small black starfighter curved back around in a graceful arc, passing in front of the Black Lion’s viewscreens. Illianya’s fighter was just a tiny blip in a HUD full of enemies, and hard to keep an eye on because of it. “Great shot Kestrel Lead,” Shiro said, as Hunk whooped in the background, the Yellow Lion shooting after the starfighter. Shiro brought his targets to bear on the next wave of drone ships, and in the split second of breathing room he had, glanced up at the comm screen.

Relief crashed over him seeing Pidge there, seated in the Green Lion’s cockpit. She wasn’t looking at the comm screen though, and Shiro’s relief calcified in his stomach when he saw the way she was hitting switches, one-handed with the other arm laying limp at her side. “Pidge!” Shiro said, alarmed, and without even thinking about it the Black Lion reacted to the drone starfighters, going into a corkscrew maneuver and eliminating a whole squadron in a single pass.

She looked up at the comm screen finally, her face slightly ashen. “I’m okay,” she said, her one hand on the controls. “Don’t know how much use I’m going to be, though-”

Shiro’s eyes darted to the HUD; there was a cascading wave of red dots disappearing behind the IF/F marker of the Yellow Lion; but there was an even larger mass of them heading their way. How many of these things could a frigate carry? They really needed more firepower -- and Shiro wasn’t going to kid himself, what they really needed was Voltron. “Kestrel Lead,” he barked into the comm. “Get to the prison ship, escort the Green Lion back-”

“ _No,_ ” Pidge had to yell to be heard over Shiro’s order. “I have cloaking shields and a particle barrier, Shiro; I can still help form Voltron-”

“- to the castle,” Shiro continued as if there hadn’t been an interruption. “Do you copy that?”

“I copy, Black,” Ilianya’s voice came through the comm. Shiro glanced back up at the screen, where Pidge had leaned forward in her seat, teeth gritted. “Don’t launch until Kestrel Lead hails you,” he said.

“Shiro, look out!”

Hunk’s voice had barely even registered, the Black Lion reacted again almost subconsciously; moving so quickly that Shiro was slammed back against the seat, magnetic restraints be damned. He yanked back on both of the flight controls and brought the Black Lion up into a sharp climb, as the massive plasma beam lit up all of the Lion’s sensors and dazzled him.

If the Black Lion had actual fur it would be singed from how close a call it was. Shiro broke off and to starboard, spinning around and seeing the remains of several dozen explosions; drone fighters sacrificed by the gunners on the frigate. “You all right?” the Yellow Lion pulled into his periphery, but Shiro didn’t glance at the comm.

“Should take a few minutes for a weapon that size to recharge,” Shiro said, heart in his throat. He broke off in one direction, and after a moment Hunk did likewise, arcing the Yellow Lion in the opposite direction.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Coran said, his face popping up on a comm screen as well, “but the Castle sensors are indicating the presence of several warps holes opened at the edge of the system. I think we’re about to have company.”

* * *

The instructor was female, a rarity on board the Galra ships. Keith knew that she was different from the way she smelled, although from the outside she didn’t look very different from the other ranked Galra who patrolled the prison ship. Large and broad-shouldered, there was a huge scar that disfigured her face, running across her snout and taking the entirety of one eye. It reached back into the short gray fur at the crown of her head, and culminated in a chunk taken from one of her purple-furred ears.

Their first instructor was gone. He was never mentioned again, and just like him a half-dozen of the other halflings were gone as well. _They were weak,_ it was whispered among the whelps. _They were broken_ . Discarded. Destroyed. The new instructor was here to cull more of them, those that couldn’t keep up, those that couldn’t survive the training. _Victory to the strong._

_At what cost?_

Keith spat blood in the sand as he swiped the back of his hand over his mouth. The last of the gladiator bots was down, its circuitry sparking, his bayard sword driven straight through its chest cavity. He could hear the rumble of the crowd through the opaque dome, and he couldn’t gauge them, didn’t want to. If they were disappointed that the half-breed was still standing that was on them, the savages.

“Keith,” Lance called from across the ring. His nose was bloody, it had dripped red onto the chestplate of his armor. “You all right?”

His ears were ringing, it wasn’t the Alteans he was hearing. The jeers and shouting were more guttural, fists pounding on the dome, the demands for blood strong. Keith braced his heel on the chest of the gladiator bot and yanked his weapon from it. There was no satisfying spray of fluids, although some oil and water seeped from the broken robot; still his pulse was pounding in his ears. Keith turned rapidly when he heard the crunch of boots on sand, sword at the ready -- Lance existed, too far away, this scent was Galra, this scent was opponent, this scent was _enemy-_

Rian held one hand up, stopping well out of reach. He was more battered than Lance, owing to his close-combat weapons. The twin blades were cracked from their impacts on the armor of the gladiator bots. Rian’s gold, glowing eyes were narrow, and Keith couldn’t _read_ him. Keith’s breath quickened, was he ready to attack, was he surrendering? Keith shifted his feet, made ready to force the Galra to a defensive posture. “ _Keith!_ ” Lance yelled from across the arena, and his ears flicked. Rian raised his weapons, eyes on Keith, and Keith bared his fangs.

“Bring it,” the Galra said, dark hair in his eyes, his mouth curled back into a snarl. “I’ll prove I’m worthy of the Red Lion.”

Five strides and he would be across the sand, sword swinging toward his opponent’s throat. _Mercy for your opponent means death for you._ Four strides and he was changing his grip on the weapon, laser-focused on Rian as Rian swung around, bringing his blades in, to block the fatal blow. _Hesitation is death._ Three strides and he dug his feet into the sand, felt it shift, changed the arc of his blade-

-and then there was a blur of blue and white, between him and his target, bayard held up to deflect his blow but misjudging the angle of his swing- “Keith, what the _fuck_ are you-”

The bayard sword impacted the bottom part of the chest armor hard enough to crack it. The keen edge of the blade sliced through the vacuum suit like it was butter. The impact of the weapon on bone is what jolted his arms, and Keith released his bayard on reflex. Lance let out a strangled sound and stayed upright for a second, staring at Keith with the most baffled expression, his bayard-rifle still extended to block a blow higher than Keith struck.

They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, as the silence rippled over everything. Then Lance went down.

Rian stood behind him still, mouth open, arms gone slack, blades still in hand. Then he dropped both his weapons and rushed to Lance, falling on his knees in the churned sand turning crimson, clumped with blood.

Chest heaving, Keith stood there, the words echoing in his ears. _He’s not strong enough,_ the druid said, lurking beside the instructor, her cloak casting her features into shadow. _Send him away._


	89. Chapter 89

“Green Lion, this is Kestrel Lead. Do you copy?”

Pidge sat forward in the pilot's seat. She had scavenged some scraps from the Green Lion's hold to construct a makeshift sling for her arm, in order to keep herself from damaging it further – but she had come across a new issue having done that. “I copy, Kestrel Lead,” Pidge said, acknowledging Ilianya's hail. She rested her right hand on the flight control. “Negative for flight at the moment, however I might have a work around here shortly.” She could see the expanse of starfield past the opening of the launch bay, and the Green Lion sat primed and ready to go … the problem being that she was down to only one operable limb and the Lion was a dual-control rig.

“Is the Lion damaged?” A starfighter shot by the opening of the launch bay, solo, and in the very far distance Pidge could see a faint spatter of artillery fire that spoke of what the others were currently keeping busy. Ilianya's voice didn't sound worried, and Pidge leaned to her left, twisting so that she could reach one of the controls on that side with her right arm.

“Green's fine,” she said. “I'm just having some-” she jammed her wounded shoulder into the back of the seat as she twisted and inhaled sharply in pain. “ _Technical_ difficulties,” she finished through gritted teeth. Maybe she could reroute the control rig for the cockpit to be entirely through the right flight control and foot pedals. _Maybe._

“The path to the Castle of Lions is clear for the moment,” Ilianya said, “but it won't remain that way for long, once the rest of the fleet arrives. It would be in your best interests to move quickly.”

“Yeah,” Pidge said as she brought up the diagnostic menu. It was completely in Altean. She made a face at it, and flipped through to another menu. “I figured.”

* * *

Keith hit the tile floor hard, landing flat on his back and knocking the wind clear out of him. He wheezed, trying to suck oxygen back into his lungs and still dazzled by the white flash of light that had nearly blinded him. It took a moment for him to process; to realize that his hand wasn't curled into sand, that the dome was no longer above his head – that he was no longer in the Altean gladiator arena at all but in the training room in the Castle of Lions. He rolled himself into a sitting position at the protest of aching muscles and looked to his right, where Lance lay sprawled face-down on the floor, one arm flung out and his head turned away from Keith.

_Fuck._

Keith scrambled over and grabbed Lance by the shoulder, rolling him roughly onto his back. The black tee shirt he had been wearing was rucked up over his belly, but his brown skin was unmarred. Keith could still feel the way the blade of his bayard sunk into Lance's flesh and it made him sick to his stomach. “Lance,” he said, desperate, and put one hand on Lance's face, turning it. He wasn't waking up, _why_ wasn't he waking up?

“Get your hands off him!”

Keith looked up, his chest heaving, just as Rian pushed himself off the floor. The Altean was breathing laboriously, and the marks on his cheeks were glowing a faint green. “Don't _touch_ him,” Rian spat and staggered upright. Keith looked away from him, his attention drawn back down to Lance. Lance was breathing, but he wasn't responding at all; not to the touch of Keith's hand on his face or the pressure of Keith's other hand on his shoulder.

“Lance,” Keith said again, the panic curdling in his belly. “Lance, don't _do_ this, I didn't mean-” he didn't even get to finish his thought before Rian hit him.

The blow was off-balance and not hard enough to do any real damage, to do anything other than stun him. Keith's hand flew to his temple and he rocked back on his knees as Rian loomed over him and Lance both. “How can you even _think_ to call yourself a Paladin,” Rian hissed, his hands curled tight into fists. “When you can do _that_ to someone you call an ally?”

The retorts all died on Keith's lips, lodged hard as pebbles in his throat. Rian was _right._ Keith didn't have any excuse, any reason for it. He had struck Lance, he had _hurt_ Lance; fucking hell he had probably killed him in front of that crowd. Keith was already panting, he could form words because he couldn't think of anything other than the feeling of bayard hitting bone, the smell of blood on the sand, the look in Lance's eyes-

Keith rocked back on his knees and barely made it far enough away before he retched and threw up all over the clean white floor of the training room.

What the fuck was _wrong_ with him…?

When he glanced back over, Rian was now kneeling over Lance, and he turned his face away from Keith. Keith wanted to ask what the hell he thought he was doing, but then they both heard the sound of running feet and looked up. Coran flung himself through the open doorway of the training room. “What _happened?_ ” Coran yelled, crossing the room as fast as Keith had ever seen him move.

“He won't-” Keith started to croak out, but Rian's voice overrode his.

“He won't wake up, Coran,” Rian said, and the undercurrent of worry in _Rian's_ voice made Keith prickle despite feeling ill. “He was injured in the memory core.”

“Blast,” Coran said, dropping to his knees beside Rian. He looked over at Keith and there was no judgment in his eyes; not yet but Keith knew it would be there soon enough. “We have to get him to one of the healing pods, that will help bring him around. Keith, I need you to-”

Keith staggered to his feet. He was staring down at Lance and again seeing the blood pooling around him where he had fallen, puddling in the divots left by their feet in the sand. He couldn't hear Coran's voice anymore, but he could sense Rian staring up at him, eyes narrowed and watching for his next move.

Without a word, Keith turned on his heel and fled out the door of the training room.

* * *

It took three good kicks and an awful lot of swearing, but Allura's boot finally broke through the grate and sent the metal cover clattering to the floor below. It was noisy enough to draw attention but Allura didn't wait to see what sort, dropping the five meters to the ground and landing lightly on her feet. She looked around once, and then glanced up, as Matt's legs emerged from the vent above her. “It's quite a drop,” she called, as he released his grip.

Matt let out a grunt of surprise when Allura caught him in a princess carry. “I said,” she repeated patiently, and slightly amused, “that it's quite a drop.” He twisted in her arms, surprising her but she didn't drop him. That turned out to be a good thing as he brought his blaster to bear and shot the two guards who had come around the stack of crates to investigate the strange noise.

“We've got company,” Matt said unnecessarily, and Allura slung him back to his feet. “Where is your shuttle parked?”

“Not here,” Allura said, and she began to run along the edge of the wall, behind the crates. They provided decent enough cover, which ended when the crates were stacked into an L-shape flush with the wall. No guards had come to see what happened to the first two yet, but it was only a matter of time – they both could hear the echo of blaster fire in the distance. Matt followed behind Allura, covering their rear, until they came up on the dead end.

“What do you mean, 'not here'?” Matt said. “Are we in the wrong hangar or something?” Allura put her shoulder against one of the stacks of crates against the wall and shoved it, using all her strength. That caused the entire stack to sway, but created an opening large enough for both of them to squeeze through. Allura wove around it deftly, and then touched her communicator as Matt followed suit.

“Pidge, have you launched yet?”

“Not yet,” Pidge responded immediately, and Allura exhaled in relief, now able to see the Green Lion crouched near the launch point of the hangar bay. “Where are you guys, have you gotten off the prison ship yet?”

Allura almost didn't duck in time as blaster fire sprayed in their direction from across the hangar bay; Matt shoved her forward enough so that it flew above her head. “Not quite,” she said, giving Matt a glare that he ignored as he returned fire on the Galra troops. “Whatever you do, don't launch just yet.”

“Yeah, okay,” Pidge said from the cockpit of the Green Lion, her good hand on the controls and watching the swarming drone Galra fighters on the HUD cut off the escape route to the castle-ship. “Sure, waiting around. I can do that.”

* * *

The bridge was completely empty.

Keith was still breathing hard as he stepped out of the turbolift. Two of the mice sitting on the central console started chittering at him but he ignored them, walking with purpose toward the dais where Princess Allura usually stood.

Everything was falling apart around him, and it was like he couldn't catch his breath. Keith put his hand flat on the corner of the console and was relieved to see flesh; he hadn't thought to glance in a mirror, to see if that cursed transformation followed him out of the memory core this time. He'd do so _much_ to push aside his past, to forget it, to start over on Earth, to be among _people._

Maybe he really wasn't fit for it.

_Half-breed._

Movement on one of the castle-ship's security monitors caught his attention and he touched the screen. It enlarged to show the hallway leading toward the medical bay. Coran had Lance slung up on his back, still completely limp, and Rian followed doggedly behind them. Keith made to touch the display, to touch that tiny representation of Lance, but then he felt his emotions surge again, twist up and choke him and he swiped it closed before setting his palm against his neck and the half-healed bruise.

It had been instinct, adrenaline, bloodlust – he could dismiss it any way he wanted but the fact remained that without hesitation he had hurt Lance. If they hadn't been in the memory core Lance would be _dead_ right now. And it was his fault. Keith took another gulping breath, felt ill again and realized there was nothing really left in his stomach to be ill _with._ He covered his mouth with one hand and looked back to the display, saw the flashing icon and swiped in on instinct, a distraction.

It was the visual display array. All active windows flew up to hover around him. Visual checks on the cockpits of the Black and Yellow Lions, the Green Lion grayed out with an exclamation point and the Blue and Red Lions listed as offline. There were audio only feeds to the left of the visual checks, and all the long range cameras were active. The heads up display was the one flashing currently, and when Keith selected it, it grew in size to a three dimensional map overlay of the system.

He gestured to zoom in on Eaphus, and saw the indicators for the waystation, the prison ship and the frigate – then as Keith zoomed in further it was a veritable explosion of color. Hundred of tiny red dots appeared, moving in swarm patterns around three fixed points. _The Lions._

They were overwhelmed.

There was something additional flashing outside of the zoomed in portion of the HUD, and when Keith touched his finger to it the map zoomed out and showed markers for additional ships. A fleet of Galra ships were headed toward Eaphus, and there were only two Voltron Lions active in the fight.

_You'll end up hurting them, too._

His stomach shrank and hardened into a rock that threatened to explode. They didn't know what he was capable of, _he_ didn't know what he was capable of; he thought that he had this under control, but _clearly_ he didn't-

“Keith.”

He turned away from the display, surprised to find that his hand was still over his mouth. Keith dropped his hand to his side and looked to Coran, who looked tired and angry. _He knew._ Of course he knew, Rian probably told him everything by now. “What are you still doing here?”

_Leave. Run away. You're not wanted here either, half-breed._

“I, I-” Keith looked to the display, the small screens that showed Hunk and Shiro's faces, concentrated on their flying, before his attention flew back to Coran, already crossing the bridge. “Coran, I-”

“They need your help,” Coran said, cutting him off.

_What?_ “What about Lance?” Keith said, and he couldn't help the way his voice cracked. “How is he, will he-”

“You're a paladin of Voltron, aren't you?” There was a harshness to his tone that made Keith's skin prickle, and he took a step back as Coran replaced him on the dais, his fingers flying over the holographic displays. “Go. They need you.”

Keith took another step back, and another, but Coran didn't look over at him again, concentrating on what he was doing. He didn't look up at all when Keith left the bridge, and the last thing Keith heard was Coran speaking into the ship's communicator, instructing Rian on how to get the reactors flipped to get the engines manually out of sleep mode.


	90. Chapter 90

Three large, spectacular explosions detonated one after the other along the aft of the Galran frigate. The cloud of ejected vapor burned brightly, until it consumed all the vented atmosphere from the ship and extinguished. Shiro blew out a breath as he spun the Black Lion away from the much bigger ship, avoiding large bursts of lined turbolaser fire. Black had outrun an entire wing of the Galra drone starfighters that were just now beginning to catch up, but there did seem to be _less_ of them now. Marginally so. His HUD was still lit up like it was Christmas. “Yellow, report,” he said, without taking his eyes off the forward viewscreen.

“I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this,” Hunk's voice was exhausted. Shiro let his gaze flicker to the linked cockpit cameras, and he could see that Hunk was slumped slightly forward, both hands on the flight controls of the Yellow Lion. He looked as worn down as Shiro himself felt, but there was no time for commiseration. Instead of responding to Hunk, Shiro tapped a command on the console and brought Green's cockpit camera online.

“Pidge,” Shiro said. “You clear of the prisoner ship yet?”

“Well,” Pidge's voice came through before the camera connected. “About that….”

 

* * *

 

“There is absolutely no way that this is going to work,” Allura said, one hand on the back of the pilot's chair. Pidge ignored her, sitting as far forward in the seat as she could and typing out commands one-handed on the floating, holographic command console.

“I can't rewrite the lion's OS to accommodate only using one flight stick,” Pidge said.

“Did you even _try_?” Matt asked, leaned over her side and staring at the scroll that was the liner code for the flight system. Pidge ignored that, swiping the console clean and restoring it to systems ready.

“Of course I did, and while it may be _theoretically_ possible, it's not something I'm going to be able to code on the fly. Unless you think you can-?” she turned and gave her older brother a look.

“Nuh-uh,” Matt said, and held up his hands. “I still can't tell the squiggles from the scraggles in Altean, don't try to pin this on me.”

“Scraggles go left to right, rising,” Allura said. “If you can't pilot the lion, Pidge, I'll do it.”

Pidge stood. “Please, Princess,” she said, and indicated the seat with her good arm. “Be my guest.”

Matt opened his mouth and closed it, watching Pidge move slightly out of the way so that Allura could seat herself in the pilot's chair. “I thought-” Matt started to say, then closed his mouth and studied his sister thoughtfully. Allura cracked her neck, stretched both of her arms out with her fingers interlinked, and then settled her hands on the flight controls for the Green Lion.

Abruptly, all the view screens in the cockpit went dim.

“Well, _that_ can't be a good sign,” Matt said, as the engines began powering down.

Allura scowled and squeezed the flight controls. “I am Princess Allura, and you will listen to _me,”_ she said, her voice ringing with authority. The Lion rumbled a little around them, like it was about to come back online, and then let out a noise that was reminiscent of a raspberry and went completely offline. Pidge began to snicker, then coughed to cover it up.

“Mystical bond that can never be forced, right, Princess?” Pidge said, and didn't bother to cover up her snicker this time.

Allura's face was stormy, her back held rigid – then she sighed and slumped back, releasing the flight controls. “You've made your point,” she said, and immediately all the view screens pulled up as active, including the portrait window for the other four lions. Only Yellow and Black's were currently active, but there was an exclamation point over Red. Blue was still offline.

“So what _are_ we going to do?” Matt said. “Pidge can't pilot this thing one-handed; it doesn't like you for some reason, and-” Allura tilted her head to Matt and arched an eyebrow. He went pink under his helmet and coughed, looking away. “So what's left?”

“Hey Matt,” Pidge said in a sickly sweet tone of voice, and Matt groaned very loudly.

“No,” he said. “I know that tone of voice and what comes after it, no, _absolutely_ not.” He gestured at Allura. “If it didn't work for the Breath of the Lions, why would it work for me?”

“Because,” Pidge said, her elbow on the back of the chair and her chin in her hand. “You were the candidate for the Green Paladin, right? That means you should have _some_ affinity for her.”

“That's-” Matt said, and shook his head. “That's not quite true, Katie, I-” Whatever Matt had been about to say was cut off by Ilianya's voice through the open comm.

“Green Lion, you need to go, _now._ ”

Matt pressed the console control for the comm as Allura got out of the pilot's chair. “Kestrel Lead this is Kestrel Two,” he said. “We copy that. How's the flight path looking today?”

“Like the burrs in a metosyln's tail, Two,” Ilianya said. “Gonna be a bumpy ride.”

Matt made a face, and Pidge said, “well, _that_ doesn't sound like a good time.” She looked at Allura. “What's a metosyln?”

Allura looked troubled. “I have no idea. It's not Altean, that's for sure,” she said, as Matt settled into the pilot's chair.

“It's native to New Altea,” he said. “Big ass cat looking thing with a whip-tail covered in poison burrs.” He touched the console and the green holographic display reflected in his helmet before it went fully transparent. He looked over at Pidge, and then took a breath, setting both hands on the flight controls, wincing every so slightly as if he expected them to shock him.

After a long moment, nothing happened – the view screens stayed on and did not dim; and the engines did not power down. Pidge laughed and held tight to the pack of the pilot's seat. “You got this, Matt,” she said.

“Yeah,” Matt said, and pulled back on the flight controls. “I do.”

 

* * *

 

Keith stood in the launch bay of the Red Lion, his helmet tucked under his arm. He had moved to the ready room on instinct, changing into his Paladin armor numbly, his mind stuck and unable to process much of anything. It was easier this way; focus on the mission. The Lions didn't need a preflight check but he performed one anyway – if he skipped a line item on his mental checklist he would be forced to stop and think and that would derail him entirely.

As he was putting on his helmet Keith heard the fast fall of footsteps behind him. He paused on the ramp into the Red Lion and turned, some subconscious part of him wanting it to be Lance, no matter how impossible that was. It wasn't Lance, of course; Lance was loaded into a healing pod, sleeping off the trauma done by the memory core. It was Rian running after him.

“You can't have Red,” Keith said automatically, as the smaller Altean stopped just shy of the bottom of the loading ramp. He was breathing hard, he had to have run the corridors to get here from the engine room and whatever it was Coran had him doing had left streaks of black and green grime on his arms and shirt.

“There's no way that the Lions alone can defeat a _superior-_ class Galra frigate,” Rian said, doubled over and panting. “You need Voltron.”

They did need Voltron, but that, like the figment of Lance running after him, was an impossibility. “We can't form Voltron without the Blue Lion,” Keith said. “We're just going to have to bring the frigate down without Voltron's help.” Why did Rian even bother coming here to tell him that, he should know that much already.

The realization of where that particular thought led left a pit in Keith's stomach. “Stay away from Blue,” he said, scowling. “Don't you dare touch her, she's Lance's lion.”

“I'm not going to bother the Blue Lion, I couldn't pass any of the Blue Paladin trials,” Rian said heatedly. “I don't have any affinity for water.”

“Then what was the point of this?” Keith said angrily, coming back down a few steps. “Why do you keep bothering _me_ , I know you hate me but that's not going to change anything!”

“Because,” Rian said, having gotten his breathing under control. “You're right, I'm _not_ going to stop hating you, because you're Galra and the last time that a Galra led Voltron it began a war that nearly wiped out my people. _But_ ,” he raised his head and stared Keith down. “If we don't work together we won't be able to stop it from happening to other people.”

“What do you mean?” Keith asked.

“I can't touch the Blue Lion,” Rian said. “I have no compatibility with it, but _you_ can. You love the Blue Paladin, the Blue Lion _must_ know that, it will let you past its particle shields-”

Keith laughed in sheer disbelief of Rian's audacity. “And, what, you'll fly Red and we'll go meet up with the others and form Voltron?” He put his hands on the support that held the ramp down and leaned a little more forward, but did not get off the ramp. “Blue wouldn't let me in, not after what I've done to Lance; so even if it _was_ that easy, I'm not letting you fly Red. I'm sure _Red_ wouldn't let you fly her.” He shook his head and pushed off the support, turning to go up the ramp. “I don't have time for this.”

“If you don't form Voltron in this fight, you and your friends will _die_ ,” Rian shouted after him.

“Then maybe you'll get your chance to be a Paladin,” Keith said, and slammed the button at the top of the ramp that drew the Red Lion's mouth closed behind him.

 

* * *

 

 

The Yellow Lion was sluggish and unresponsive, or maybe that was just his own reactions. Hunk pulled on the flight controls as two full wings of the drone starfighters did a pass on him, their plasma beams lighting up the particle barrier on Yellow. This was the longest sortie he'd ever been a part of, and unlike Lance, Hunk had _no_ interest in being a fighter pilot. Yeah, he could fly, but this … this was more than he'd been trained to deal with.

Suddenly, there was a flash by the distant prison ship. “Is that Pidge?” Hunk asked, excited by the thought that they might be able to get out of here and flee the unwinnable battle before the cavalry arrived.

“Kinda,” Pidge's voice said, and when Hunk glanced to the visual comm it was not what he expected to see. The head and shoulders of the pilot of the Green Lion was dressed in a black flightsuit, with a semi-transparent full helmet. Hunk blinked a few times, then made to rub one hand across his eyes and instead smacked the visor of his helmet.

“Kestrel Two to Kestrel Lead,” Matt's voice came through the comm, and suddenly it all clicked for Hunk. _Pidge was hurt but she's okay, Matt is piloting the Green Lio-WAIT WHAT!?_ “We're operating at full capacity and don't need an escort, breaking for the castle.”

“I copy,” Ilianya's voice said. The small green arrow on the HUD that represented Ilianya's starfighter broke away from the prison ship. “Rejoining the sortie.” Hunk felt a smile tug despite his exhaustion, and glanced back to his own screen and sensors.

There was a sizable dent in throngs of drone craft now; there were actually clear spots on his head's up display that showed the damage even just two lions and a single piloted starflighter were able to inflict. The frigate itself had taken a decent amount of damage but its main shields were still up. If they could form Voltron, that wouldn't be as much an issue. “Where's Lance and Keith when you need them?” Hunk grunted, mostly to himself.

“Doesn't matter,” Shiro said. “We'll be falling back as soon as the Green Lion is in range of the castle.” The Black Lion hove into his field of vision, distant but visible to the naked eye. “In the meantime let's work over the communications array on the frigate, at least one of those comm dishes is going to be the transmission point for the drones.”

Hunk yawed the Yellow Lion so that he as facing the frigate. He had been targeting the engines specifically earlier, trying to disable the massive ship if nothing else; on a frigate that size there were literally hundreds of arrays of all sizes. Granted, something to command a drone force would be on the larger end of the scale, but commands for something of that nature could be just as easily split among smaller arrays, especially to circumvent the main dish being destroyed. “Roger,” Hunk said, just as a large beam of light shot out from the frigate, targeting again the Black Lion. “Shiro! Look out-!”

His warning was not in time. The blue beam of light was different than the plasma beam from before; it caught the Black Lion broadside and as Hunk yelled out the Black Lion tumbled from the impact. “Shiro!”

The visual comm for the Black Lion had gone to static, and even from this distance Hunk could tell that the Black Lion was offline. However, it didn't appear to be damaged by the hit, tumbling slowly. “Ion canon,” Hunk said, and then realized with the Black Lion disabled so close to the frigate, that meant only one thing. They meant to capture him.

Hunk yanked back on the flight controls. The Yellow Lion wasn't as fast or as maneuverable as the others, it had far more mass but that also meant it had the thickest, strongest hull out of all the Voltron Lions. He could at least slow the Black Lion's aimless tumble, and braced for the impact.

The Black Lion was drifting and he didn't have any towing capabilities, but if they could get Black back online….

“What happened?” Pidge yelled through the comm. “Where's Shiro!?”

There was a flash out of the periphery of Hunk's vision, and then a streak of motion blasted across Hunk's forward viewscreen, coming in fast from port. It was the Red Lion. “Shiro, hang on!” Keith yelled, juking Red through a labyrinth of drone fighters and leaving explosions in his wake.

“Why hasn't the ship picked up the Black Lion in a tractor beam?” Matt's voice now, and as Hunk swung his attention around the Green Lion flew past.

“We got those early on,” Hunk said, as the Green Lion came around on the other side of the Black Lion. “Keith, where's Lance?”

Keith didn't respond, the Red Lion making a beeline for frigate and already so small against its hull that Hunk couldn't pick him out except for the trail of increasingly large explosions. “We have to get the Black Lion restarted,” Hunk said. “Any ideas on how?”

“That depends,” Pidge said. “You wanna get out and push?”

“Restarting the Lion's systems has to be done from inside the Lion,” Allura said. “Shiro will have to do it on his own.”

Hunk didn't want to think about the fact that with the systems down that killed the life support inside the cockpit. “What if he doesn't get it restarted?”

“Then we'll have to tow Black to the castle,” Matt said.

“Hunk, can you keep the drones busy?” Allura said. “We'll keep trying to hail Shiro, with any luck he'll wake the Lion quickly.”

“Yeah, I copy,” Hunk said as he started to turn the Yellow Lion back toward the oncoming wave of drone fighters.

“Kestrel Lead to all channels,” Ilianya's voice suddenly came through the comm, cut up with static. “Requesting backup, I'm hit, three engines out-”

“Ilya, punch out-!” Matt yelled, whipping the Green Lion around.

Hunk's attention flew to the map, to locate Ilianya's small starfighter. “On my way,” he started to say as Ilianya's next transmission cut to static and the small green arrow on his HUD blinked out.


	91. Chapter 91

Shiro's head bumped gently against the ceiling of the cockpit. He squinted into the darkness, disoriented; his only light was the dim teal glow emanating from his Paladin armor. Shiro touched a hand to his helmet, feeling that it now completely ensconced his head. The automatic life support system of the suit had taken over, despite Shiro's sudden blackout. He exhaled, and then put his hands flat against the ceiling and pushed off, floating back down toward his seat.

It was absolutely silent inside the cockpit without the rumble of the engines or even the barely-perceptible electronic noise of the Lion's computers processing. He could hear his own breath in his ears, his heartbeat in his chest. What had  _happened?_

_ A blue beam of light blinding him, Black thrashing around him in pain, so much pain –  _ Shiro winced against the memory as he settled himself down in the pilot's seat. With the Black Lion completely offline the magnetic restraints were no longer active, just like the artificial gravity, the internal compensator, the life support system, the communications array….

Fortunately, the Paladin armor had its own internal communications system. The suit's connection with its Lion bolstered its broadcast range, so with Black being offline it was a crapshoot if anyone would be able to hear him but it was worth a shot. Shiro flipped over to it anyway, tuning the system to the frequency most often used by the Castle of Lions and the other Paladins. “Coran?” Shiro said. “Anyone? Do you copy?”

“Shiro!” It was Allura's voice that greeted him, the others must be nearby. A flood of relief washed over him, he _probably_ wasn't captured. “Are you all right?”

“Black's completely offline.” He touched one hand to the flight control stick and didn't get any response. “I can't seem to raise her, how do I manually reboot?”

“You were hit by an ion blast, that usually fries the central processing crystal,” Matt's voice this time, somewhat strained. Shiro put both his hands on the flight controls and frowned, because even when the Lion was off and resting in her bay there was still _something_ there. “I have no idea what the computer systems are like on these things, they almost seem alive.”

“That's because they _are_ alive,” Pidge said. “Matt, bring Green closer, I'll jump over and help Shiro reboot Black, I've done it before. Keith needs backup, you can't hang around here.”

“ _What?_ ” Matt was incredulous. “Absolutely not, you're _hurt_! You're not leaving me alone in this thing, Katie.”

Shiro closed his eyes, halfway tuning out the argument that sprang up between the siblings. Black was quiet, still as death … but it wasn't like she was sleeping. There was still something  _ there _ , something on the barest edges of his perception. It was like catching a flicker of a shadow out of the corner of his eyes; he couldn't focus directly on it or else he'd lose it.

“We're sending Pidge over, Shiro,” Allura's voice this time, it brought him out of the trance-like state he had drifted into. Pidge must have won the argument.

Not that it mattered. “Negative,” Shiro said, his eyes still closed. “Black's completely down, I can't manually open the jaw to let Pidge in. You'll have to talk me through rebooting her over the comm.” There it  _ was _ again. Shiro winced a little and tried to follow the spark but lost its thread again. Suddenly the entire craft shuddered as Shiro felt the Black Lion take a direct hit.

Without the magnetically locked restraints active, the impact shot Shiro out of his seat. He was awake this time though, and managed to brace himself, half-turning so that the impact led with his shoulder against the wall and not his head. “What was  _ that?” _ he yelled.

“Company,” Matt said, his voice a little scrambled, the Green Lion must be moving out of range. “Sorry, Shiro, hang tight-”

The rest of what he said was lost in a scramble of static and Shiro muttered something into the open comm channel that he usually wouldn't say in front of cadets. He looked at the small display over his arm and saw that he hadn't lost the comm channel at all; bright red letters overlaid the information. “Jammed,” Shiro said out loud, as if anyone was listening now. “Hunk took out those dishes on the frigate first to avoid that happening, why would it kick in  _ now? _ ”

Shiro pushed off against the wall with one hand and floated in zero-G for a moment, the realization staggering. The battleships that had entered the system earlier had finally made it from the far reaches of the warp point and were in range. If they didn't get out of here quickly, Voltron would be captured.

This time, with his eyes open, he saw the spark. A dash of purple on one of the dark viewscreens; and when Shiro turned his head to follow its trail he lost it in the reflected teal light of his suit. “I know you're here,” he said out loud. “We have to work together on this, but I don't know how to help you. Can you tell me?”

Nothing, for a long while. Shiro kicked off the wall and floated directly to the pilot's chair, pulling himself back into the seat with his hands tight on the flight controls. He wouldn't let go again, no matter what. Then there was a flash of  _ something _ , and Shiro closed his eyes, a small smile on his face as he focused. “Ah,” he murmured. “I suspected as much...”

 

* * *

The Black Lion floated helpless in space, almost invisible against the infinite black canvas unless you were right up on it. There was a new wound to the Lion's exterior, carbon scoring from the starfighter that had sniped past before Matt whipped Green around so fast that the craft didn't have time to realign its sensors before the plasma bolt from Green's tail blasted it into space dust.

Coran was up on visual. “We've just launched from the moon, Princess,” Coran said. “We can warp once the Lions – and yourself – are back in range of the castle.”

“Thank quiznack, something's finally going right,” Allura said, and looked to the other screens as Coran's shrank away. “Keith, Hunk, did you both get that?”

“Copy that,” Keith's voice was strained. The Red Lion was flying a tight corkscrew around the aft of the frigate, and a wing of drones were swarming him; never mind the bevy of turbolaser fire that the Lion was drawing. “How's Shiro?”

Matt glanced to the viewscreen that showed the Black Lion hanging limply, running lights still extinguished. “We'll get back to you on that,” he said. “Head back this way, I can help knock a few of your groupies off your tail.”

There wasn't a response to that and Pidge looked to the communications display; red circles with slashes through them now occupied all the active slots. “What the hell?” she said. “How are they jamming us  _ now?” _

The view outside the Lion spun as Matt juked the Green Lion around, blasts of turbolaser fire lighting up the screen on all sides. Between them and the waystation where the prison ship was still docked was a massive Galra battleship. “Holy  _shit_ ,” Matt yelled, and yanked back on the flight controls, looping the Green Lion up and away.

“Shiro!” Allura yelled, but the Black Lion was already completely off their screens. “We can't leave him, turn around this instant!”

“Yeah, so we can get friend just like he did?” Matt said, stomping the rudder pedals and turning the Lion on a dime. “Hang on, Princess!”

Both Pidge and Allura clung to the back of the pilot's seat as Matt spun the Green Lion, avoiding the rain of plasma fire expertly. “Jawblade,” Pidge said, and Matt nodded. The Green Lion ran up alongside the battleship, jawblade out and carving a large swath of destruction along the side of the ship. It wasn't enough, but the explosions that littered their path was enough to cut the battery of turbolaser fire for a few brief moments.

“We have to get back to Shiro,” Allura said. “And tow the Black Lion back to the castle!”

“What about Hunk and Keith?” Pidge said. “Did they both get Coran's transmission too?”

“I have no idea,” Allura said grimly, as the Black Lion appeared in their forward view again. This time, though, the emergency lights on the exterior of the Black Lion were lit, but it was still hanging helplessly in space.

“He's got her running again,” Matt said, relieved.

“Not entirely,” Allura said. “He'll still have to reboot her.” Pidge started to move toward the back of the cockpit, intent on making the jump to the Black Lion to help. “No, Pidge,” Allura said. “Let me out here, I can help him get it rebooted. Your brother is right, you're injured.”

“I can still help,” Pidge said, and Matt glanced back at them for a second.

“Katie,” he said.

“You two, find Hunk and lead him back to the ship, we'll get Keith once we get moving,” Allura touched her helmet and it completely covered her head, making her suit vacuum-resistant.

“I'm not leaving you while the Black Lion's incapacitated,” Matt said, focused on the forward view. “We're staying until it's moving under its own power again.”

“Bring her in closer,” Allura said as they pulled alongside the Black Lion. “Go and find Hunk,” she repeated, as the floor opened up beneath her to allow Allura exit from the Green Lion. “That's an order!”

Pidge stared at the spot on the floor that closed up behind the Princess. “That's an  _order_ ,” she repeated in a higher voice, imitating Allura's angrily. “We're not leaving until they're mobile.”

“Damn straight we're not,” Matt said, and they watched as Allura kicked off the Green Lion, one hand outstretched toward the Black Lion. “We can't afford to lose both the Black Paladin _and_ the Breath of the Lions.” He glanced at his screen and at the Galra battleship, which was starting to roll, likely to bring the undamaged weapons on the other side to bear on them. “She doesn't have a lot of time, though.”

“Where's Hunk and Keith?” Pidge asked out loud, and as Matt started to respond that he didn't have any idea, two small screens overlaid the jammed visual comm and he realized she was asking the Lion, and not him. Hunk was too far out of range for the exterior cameras, so it showed the HUD with a small yellow lion's head for Hunk's location – on the other side of the battleship and moving away all the while. “What's he _doing?_ ” she said, and slammed her good hand against the back of the pilot's chair in frustration. “Dammit, Hunk!”

“He's looking to see if there's an ejected pod from Ilya's starfighter,” Matt said softly. “On the off chance she punched out in time.”

Pidge bit her lip and glanced away, looking at the battleship again. “Yeah,” she said, her gut twisting. “Fat lot of it will do him if they  _both_ get captured.”

 

* * *

The head's up display had marked the last coordinate transmitted before the small Galra-made starfighter st opped broadcasting its location and was presumably destroyed. Hunk kept one eye on it, the coordinates moved to the main screen of the Yellow Lion's cockpit; the point still distant. She had been close to the prison ship, and there were still drone starfighters about, even if there weren't as many as had been protecting the frigate.

“Come on, come _on_ ,” Hunk said, desperately scanning the wreckage of starfighters as he flew Yellow with thrusters wide open. A ping rang off his sensors and Hunk's attention flew to it, fingers flying over the console to bring up its information. The ping was remote-activated; no actual communications were sent with it but Hunk almost laughed in his relief. It was an automated ping from an ejector seat. The Yellow Lion's tail thrashed as Hunk reoriented toward the source of the ping, flying quickly through the debris field. He opened the comm, hoping to raise her but was met with static. He frowned and jabbed at the controls, then glanced up to the visual comm and saw that they were all offline, with blink red sigils covering the open transmission lines.

“That doesn't make any sense,” Hunk said out loud, and the Yellow Lion twisted in its flight path as the new, large threat loomed behind him. “I know I took out the – ohhhh _no_.” The battleship took up nearly all the viewscreen. “Oh, no. Oh _no_ no no, that's _not_ good.” He flipped the Yellow Lion expertly and pushed the Lion to its full speed, headed toward the ping. “Hang on, Ilianya,” he said. “I'm coming for you!”

 

* * *

 

The Black Lion's mouth was slightly open now, which allowed Allura to float in and board. She ignored the ominous dim glow of the plasma cannon that sat behind the boarding ramp and pulled herself into the cockpit. Some of the Lion's internal systems were back online and operational, but apparently the artificial gravity was not one of them. “Shiro, are you all right?”

There was no answer.

Allura swallowed hard and floated into the cockpit proper, pushing off the door with her feet and catching onto the back of the pilot's chair with both hands. Her first fear – that she would find the cockpit, and the pilot's chair completely empty – was allayed by seeing Shiro there, although he was slumped forward and clutching both flight controls tightly. “Shiro,” Allura said, relieved, but he again didn't respond.

She kicked around the chair, hanging onto it with one hand so that she could see him properly. Shiro was leaned over, his helmet tilted down and she couldn't see his face. Allura reached out to touch him tentatively, and Shiro jerked back but did not lift his head. “We don't have time for this,” Allura snapped, and Shiro reacted to her words and finally lifted his head.

His eyes were open wide, staring at nothing and glowing a soft purple.

Allura stared at him for a moment, her mouth open. Shiro's face was entirely blank. “Oh, no,” Allura said, softly at first. She released the pilot's chair and instead put both her hands on Shiro's helmet, turning his face up. “No, don't you  _dare_ ,” her voice was angry now. “You let him  _go._ ”

Shiro let out a strangled noise, a choked cry. The purple glow seemed to be spreading, but Allura wasn't having any of it. “I command you,” she hissed, and slammed Shiro bodily back into the seat. He made another pained noise, and the purple glow got brighter for a split second before it went completely out. At the same time, all the monitors and view screens around them lit to their full capacity, and the artificial gravity kicked back in. Allura fell with a hard thud, banging her helmet off Shiro's thigh and sprawling back. She swore several phrases in straight Altean as her helmet helpfully went partial now that life support was back on.

Shiro was panting in the pilot's seat, almost wheezing like he couldn't catch his breath. He tilted forward a little, still hanging tight to the flight controls and staring straight ahead like he was looking through what was in front of him. Allura pushed herself upright. “Shiro,” she said authoritatively, and he jumped in his chair and looked at her instantly, startled, as if he had no idea she was standing before him. She exhaled heavily and asked, “are you all right?”

“What happened?” Shiro said, his voice thick. “What just _happened?”_

“I will explain later,” Allura said. “I promise.” Shiro stared at her wildly, and she continued, “are you able to fly?” He better be, because she sincerely doubted that the Black Lion would let her pilot if he couldn't. _Especially_ after that.

He nodded his head and wet his lips, swallowing. Shiro took a very deep breath and held it for a moment, then sat back in the chair and squared his shoulders; the fear seeming to melt off him as he assessed where they were at. “Are visual comms still down?” Shiro asked, glancing at the array of blacked-out boxes at the side of his screen.

“The battleship is jamming us,” Allura said. “The Green Lion should be headed for Hunk, to let him know we're to head back to the castle. I don't know why Lance isn't here, we need him to form Voltron and without Voltron there is no winnable scenario here. We must flee.”

Shiro nodded his head and glanced up, seeing the explosions lighting up the frigate on their other side. “Keith?”

“Yes,” Allura said.

“Let's go get him,” Shiro said, and pulled back on the controls. The Black Lion roared, its engines surging to life. It shot forward, heading toward the frigate, and the Red Lion.


	92. Chapter 92

It was the distant cry of circling gulls that made Lance finally open his eyes. He squinted, expecting the bright expanse of a blue summer sky as felt the board rock with the waves. Instead of a summer sky though, the expanse above him was midnight blue and black, with a paintbrush spray of stars that seemed neverending. It was vast and unfathomable and all at once made Lance feel very, very small.

He sat up and discovered to his surprise that he wasn't laid out on a surfboard like he had imagine, rocked gently by unseen waves. The canvas of the universe had expanded around him, past a horizon line until it felt like he was floating motionless in the emptiness of deep space. It was profoundly disorienting, and Lance flailed his hand back until it hit something strong and solid. He flattened his hand, feeling warmth and sturdiness beneath it. Lance put both of his hands back and leaned his weight on them, legs sticking out straight and relaxed, letting go of the fear that had seized him as he looked up at the endless stretch of sky.

“Am I dead?” Lance asked aloud, mostly rhetorically since he didn't expect an answer. If he was, he was going to be _really_ pissed. He felt the Blue Lion rumble a bit and when he shifted to look at the Blue Lion's eyes they were lit gold. “It's _not_ a stupid question,” he said defensively. “If I'm not dead, where the heck am I?”

There was no response to that, just the same gentle rumble of the Blue Lion's systems being active. Lance sighed, and then drew one leg up, draping his arm over it. His shirt stuck to him with the motion, tacky with blood, and he pulled at it. There was no wound underneath, and he traced his fingers over the spot where the blade – _Keith's blade –_ had cut into him. Lance shuddered and leaned forward, squeezing his eyes shut and folding his arms, trying to curl in on himself and forget about what he had seen.

_That wasn't Keith._

But it was, and the knowledge curdled in Lance's belly like old milk. He wanted to yell and scream and cry but instead sat there, still tilted forward, and shook. He took a deep, gasping breath, and then another, and when he opened his eyes he realized that he was no longer alone.

Seated, perched on the very edge of the Blue Lion's nose, was an Altean. Lance scrambled to his knees but hesitated, realizing that he didn't feel threatened by this presence. “...Blue…?” he asked, and the Blue Lion rumbled something that he didn't quite understand.

“Hey,” Lance said again, and the Altean cocked their head but didn't turn around. “This is a private Lion, buddy.” He stood up finally, and the Altean stood too. “I don't know what you're doing here – or where here even is, to be honest –“ Lance didn't take a step back when the Altean turned, and with one hand lowered the hood that covered their hair.

Lance didn't know what he was expecting. He had seen a hundred Alteans in the memory core, he knew Allura and Coran and Illianya and Rian. He didn't know this Altean. Their hair was the color of icewater frozen to glaciers, their eyes and markings a deep blue. Lance furrowed his brow as the Altean smiled at him, almost sadly. “Blue…?” he said again, suspicious, but the Blue Lion rumbled at him indignantly. “Okay, okay, _jeez._ ”

The Altean didn't speak. “So, um,” Lance said. “I'm Lance,” he pointed to himself. “And you are…?” When the Altean still did not speak, he folded his arms and sighed. “This is supposed to be some sort of great revelatory dream, right? I'm dead or I'm dying or--” another rumble from the Blue Lion “or I'm apparently in a healing pod, _thank you_ , Blue, so that just leaves the question: who the holy swiss cheese are you?”

Still no response. Lance took a step closer and the Altean did not shrink away. Instead, they put their hands out, cupped together, like they were holding something. “What, is this the key to the universe or something?” Lance asked. “The secret to defeating Zarkon? The Colonel's eleven herbs and spices?” He wasn't getting any response so Lance instead put out his hands, because the Altean was clearly waiting on him to do so. “You know, I'm not the one in charge of this operation,” he said. “You should be leaving the hinky mystical shit in Shiro's dreams.”

Lance looked down when he realized there was something in his open hands. It was a tiny, perfect facsimile of a hawk, cast in shades of violet. Lance stared at it, and then the hawk moved and he almost dropped it. “What the _heck_ is this supposed to mean?” he asked, looking up, but the sadly smiling Altean was, predictably, gone. Lance looked back at the hawk in his cupped hands; and after a moment of preening its feathers it spread two tiny wings and took flight. Lance watched the tiny hawk flitter past, no larger than a hummingbird; it circled him before rising higher, disappearing quickly against the backdrop of endless night. “What the heck,” Lance breathed again, and then glacned back at the Blue Lion to see that her eyes had gone dim.

He inhaled slowly and lifted his gaze to the sky once more, feeling the tug of darkness at the edges of his consciousness. He closed his eyes, and slipped under.

 

 

 

“Do we know which ship is jamming us?” Keith asked, the Red Lion keeping pace alongside the Black Lion. There was a load of static in the transmission, because even flying in tight formation there was plenty of interference.

“No clue.” Shiro's voice was shot through with something other than static, and Keith stared out the forward viewscreen, his hands curled tight on the controls. The question burned in his throat but Allura was with Shiro, even if he wasn't all right he would maintain in front of her, at least.

“One of the battleships,” Allura said, and Keith managed not to snort because battleship was now _plural._ The space between Eaphus and its moon – and the waystation – was a veritable _swarm_ of Galra fleet now; their large purple battleships enough to overwhelm the Lions separately. Nevermind the smaller craft launching to sortie, in the hope that the pilots would be fatigued by the waves of drone fighters they had battled through previously.

Their flight was taking them around the far edge of the skirmish, and most of the smaller craft were orienting toward them to intercept. The Red Lion rumbled threateningly around him, resenting being reined in to keep pace with the Black Lion, but Keith didn't feel up to placating the craft, looking instead to the HUD for the other Lions.

With their comms scrambled it was a bit of a surprise that the IF/F system was still online, but he could track both the Green and the Yellow Lions on the small display, as well as through the forward viewscreen, their Lions impossible to see with the naked eye but with tiny arrows indicating their trajectory. Keith glanced back to the Black Lion and wished that the visual comm was online, just so he could check in on Shiro. “Head back to the Castleship without me,” he said. “I'll make sure Hunk and Pidge get back safe.”

“ _Keith_ ,” Shiro said, aggravated, but Keith had already let down one of his mates today, he wasn't about to let the other one suffer. He kicked the Red Lion's thrusters to full and it outpaced the Black Lion in seconds, purring happily at the open throttle as Keith looped back and headed straight into the midst of the sortie. He was out of low-baud comm range in seconds, the comm going straight to static and a quick glance at the HUD showed the Black Lion still on its flight path back to the Castleship. Keith exhaled in relief, and then focused forward, on the ships coming straight for him. No turning back now.

 

 

 

Shiro watched the Red Lion shrink to nothing but an arrow point on the forward viewscreen in the time it took to blink. There was a line of explosions along the Red Lion's flight path, and he trusted in Keith and his ability, but his team was out there scattered and it was such a helpless feeling that he couldn't quite swallow it down. _And where was Lance?_

Allura's hand on his shoulder startled him and Shiro didn't realize that he had cut the thrust until she did so. “Shiro,” Allura said. “We must head back; Coran will be preparing the teludav for our warp.” The Castleship couldn't warp without the Princess on board to channel the energy of the teludav drive; and they needed that tiny bit of prep time before they could go anywhere. The others would be fine, he trusted Keith to bring everyone back safely.

“You're absolutely right, Princess,” Shiro said, kicking the Black Lion's engines to full. He could still feel the faintest tug on the edge of his mind, those purple tendrils that had enveloped him and the strange way that it made his head throb. He winced, one hand touching the side of his helmet reflexively. When he lifted his hand he realized that Allura was staring at him with concern. “I'm all right,” Shiro said, his favorite lie to tell, and put his hand back on the flight control as the white marker for the Castleship popped up in the center of their screen. They were still too far out to properly raise its communications array, but Shiro was glad to see that the Castleship had reverted to flight mode, having already left the barren landscape of one of Eaphus' smaller moons. It would make their retreat all the easier.

“I'll drop you in the flight bay,” Shiro said, and Allura shook her head sharply.

“No. If you go back out--” she bit her lip and wouldn't meet his eye, and that throb in his head grew a little sharper. “Find out where Lance is,” she suggested, and that created another knotted ball of stress in his chest, because he had been avoiding very hard the black mass of reasons as to why Keith would launch and Lance wouldn't. Allura leaned forward and placed her hand on the holographic console, bringing up the comm unit and they were close enough now that static interference was all but gone. “Coran, we're incoming on the Black Lion,” she said. “The battleships are blocking our comm frequencies, Keith is bringing the others home.”

“Copy that, Princess,” Coran's voice jumped out of the comm, but there was an edge to it that Shiro could almost taste. “Rian and I have the teludav up and running, we're just waiting on you. And the others, of course.”

“Of course,” Allura said, and Shiro silently looked to the rear sensors, watching red dots vanish along the path of the Red Lion. _Don't be long._

 

 

 

Pidge was trying to find the Yellow Lion on the sensor array, because trying to keep a bead on it when Matt couldn't fly her fucking Lion in a straight line for a solid ten seconds was making her extremely dizzy. It was _much_ different being a passenger than the pilot. “For fuck's sake,” Pidge snapped, and was incredibly thankful that she had the foresight to keep the internal compensator dialed up because otherwise with all the barrel rolls he was pulling she would have been knocked around the inside of the cockpit like a pinball. “If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to show off for Allura.”

“Katie, I'm giving you one last chance to shut the fuck up,” Matt said.

“You weren't even in the pilot program at the Garrison, you used to get sick in the simulators! Can you fucking cool it with the barrel rolls!!!” Just for that, Matt juked the Green Lion extra hard, faking out one of the drones that had swarmed after them. It blew past and clipped another drone, sending both of the Galra craft reeling in opposite directions.

Matt crowed at the maneuver, and then glanced over his shoulder at his sister. “I didn't get sick in the simulators,” he said.

“Shiro said you did,” Pidge took the moment of straight flight to try to ping Hunk's location again.

“He's a dirty liar,” Matt retorted. “And I do _not_ have a thing for the Princess.”

“I didn't say you had a thing, I said you were trying to show off. Can I trust you not turn us upside down for thirty seconds to see if I can maximize our broadcast range to attempt to raise Hunk?” When Matt didn't maneuver the Green Lion violently Pidge leaned against the console, her injured arm cradled against her chest as she typed one-handed. The static through the comms spiked as she tried to reach through the interference to Hunk.

A drone broadsided the Green Lion hard enough to temporarily scramble the sensors as the Lion went tail over teakettle. The suicide run from the drone didn't do significant damage to the hull but several sensors along the left side of the display had gone red and flashing. “Shit shit _shit!”_

“It's no good,” Matt said. “Have you got the Yellow Lion on visual at least?”

“Do _you_ see him on the screen?” Pidge snapped angrily. She swung her head around to the sensor array but it was just red dots. “Where _is_ he?”

“I don't _know_.” Matt yanked back on the Green Lion's controls, not letting her slow up on speed and watching the circling drones more than anything. “What do you want to do, Katie? We lost him.”

A red arrow cut through the line of red dots on the sensor array and suddenly the Red Lion flashed by outside the viewscreen. It looped the Green Lion and drew up beside it, and Pidge's hand flew over the console, bringing up a low-baud transmission line. “Pidge!” Keith's voice was fairly clear. “Where's Hunk?”

“I don't know,” Pidge said, her voice tight. “We lost him off the sensors and the battleship is between us and him.”

There was a short silence and she was afraid that she'd lost Keith on the comm. “Get back to the Castleship,” Keith said. “The battleships are launching more fighters, we'll be overwhelmed for sure.”

“Not without Hunk!”

“I'll find him,” Keith said. “Red is faster than all the other Lions, we can outrun anything that the Galra throw at us. Get back to the Castleship.”

“Copy that,” Matt said, and Pidge slammed her hand into the console.

“No we _don't_ \--” she started to say, but Keith had already looped the Red Lion away, headed straight for the battleship. “Matt, don't you dare listen to him.”

“Katie, you're hurt,” Matt said, and didn't turn to look at her. “Keith will get Hunk.”

“Green!” Pidge said, but the Green Lion didn't respond to her as Matt piloted the Lion away from the conflict, and back toward the Castleship.

 

 

 

Keith gritted his teeth, both hands tight on the flight controls. The Red Lion was a fearsome machine but even it could be quickly overwhelmed by the turbolaser batteries on the battleship, and coupled with the drone fighters it meant that getting around the thing was nearly impossible.

Shiro would be back to the Castleship by now with Allura, and Matt and Pidge were headed back that way. That only left Hunk and Illianya unaccounted for; and even as the Red Lion's sensors scanned at max capacity it wasn't pulling any information on the Yellow Lion. There were so many ships on his sensors that some parts of it were almost solid in color, and with their comms being jammed there was no point in even attempting a broadcast.

He was out of options.

 

 

 

“The Red Lion is incoming,” Coran reported, his hands flying over the consoles at the forefront of the bridge. Allura had hit the bridge at a run, practically flinging herself onto the control dais and bringing up the teludav operation. Shiro was only a few steps behind her. “The Green Paladin and her brother are both aboard now, in the Green Lion's launch bay.”

“Where's Hunk?” Shiro said, his eyes scanning the forward viewscreen and the overlapping data points that Coran had up. “Is the Yellow Lion already on board?”

“That is a negative,” Coran said. “I can't seem to raise him.”

Allura's hands froze above the teludav controls. “Coran, hail Keith. He should be in range of the Castleship by now.”

The video comm channel opened, and Keith's portrait appeared on the forward viewscreen. He was hunched forward, his hands on the controls and face tilted away. “Keith, what's going on?” Allura asked. “Where's the Yellow Lion?”

“I don't know,” Keith said, still not looking up. “He's not pinging on any of the sensor arrays, and I can't seem to get past the battleship. It's suicide.” He looked up finally at the comm, lost. “What do we do?”

Allura said, “we cannot leave him behind.”

“if we stay, we risk the Castleship being captures,” Rian said, and Shiro registered his presence finally, seated at one of the Paladin consoles. _Lance's._

“Where's Lance?” Shiro said suddenly, but then the lift from the Lion launch bays open, and Pidge flung herself out of the elevator, followed closely by Matt.

“Are Hunk and Keith on board?” Pidge shouted. Allura looked over to Shiro, and Shiro rubbed a hand over his face, his heart pounding.

“Particle barrier up,” Coran said sharply, and Rian's hands flew over the holographic console in front of him. Before anyone really had a chance to brace the entire Castleship shuddered as a turbolaster blast sprayed and dispersed in a scatter of light thanks to the shielding system.

“The battleship is firing on us,” Rian reported unnecessarily. “The particle barrier is holding for now.”

Pidge threw herself in her seat, bringing up the holographic console and spotting the incoming Red Lion as the ship's information began to appear on her display. “Keith, where's Hunk?” she said, and Keith looked away from the video comm. “Where is he!?”

“If the Yellow Lion was destroyed I would _know_ ,” Allura said softly, hands still held out over the teludav console. “He's still out there somewhere.”

Shiro looked to Allura, but she wasn't looking at him, looking down at her hands still held out. He took a deep breath, then squared his shoulders and looked to the screen. “Keith, bring the Red Lion in,” he said. “We need to get out of here.”

“No!” Pidge yelled. “We have to find _Hunk!_ He's out there!” She slammed her hand through the holographic console in front of her, scattering the light.

“Roger that,” Keith said, his voice a strange monotone as his image vanished from the forward viewscreen. Shiro took a deep breath before looking back to Allura, frozen in place. “Princess, we need to warp.”

“The Red Lion is safely on board,” Coran said. “Dropping the particle barrier to engage the teludav. Princess.”

“Understood,” Allura said, her voice and her concentrating finding their focus in the operation of the teludav. “Opening wormhole now.”


	93. Chapter 93

There were two healing pods actively in use when Shiro entered the medbay. Matt stood before the pod that Pidge had been placed in, still wearing his black flightsuit and with his arms folded tight as he watched the pod intently. “You convinced her finally?” Shiro asked as he stopped beside Matt.

His oldest friend wouldn't look at him and Shiro felt a quiet pang in his chest. “She didn't want to go under,” was all Matt said in a clipped tone.

Shiro nodded his head once and then looked to the other healing pod where Lance's inert form resided. Lance had no visible injuries, and according to the display his vitals were strong … but he had yet to come out of the deep slumber that the healing pods placed their occupants under. “Matt,” Shiro started, but Matt spoke at the same time.

“This is all my fault,” Matt said, and hunched his shoulders forward as if he was folding in on himself. “I wanted to tag the prison ship and I let Katie convince me that we could free the prisoners and grab a manifest. It was stupid and reckless and I got people killed.”

Shiro's jaw tightened. “It was my call to leave the Yellow Lion,” he said. “They're not dead.”

“If they're captured, they may as well be.”

“If they're captured,” Shiro said forcefully. “We'll _rescue_ them.”

Matt looked up at Shiro sharply. “Like you rescued me?”

Shiro inhaled, stung. Matt looked away again, at the pod, his own jaw held tight. Before Shiro could respond to that the doors to the medbay opened. Shiro didn't take his eyes off Matt right away, although Matt wouldn't look at him, clearly done with the conversation. Finally he glanced back to the entrance, to see Keith frozen in place on the threshold. “Am I interrupting something?” Keith asked, more careful with his words than usual, and Shiro looked at Matt and then shook his head.

“No,” he said, looking at Lance's healing pod a moment before looking back to Keith. “What is it?”

“We need to talk.”

“Yeah,” Shiro said, and turned away from the healing pods, and Matt. “We do.”

 

 

 

Allura stood on the central control dais, arms folded, and stared out the viewscreen. Coran was working from his console, scanning for contact from the Yellow Lion as well as keeping an eye on the Castleship's systems. One of the Altean mice sat perched on Allura's shoulder, chattering quietly in an attempt to soothe her roiling emotions. She appreciated the effort, even if it was wasted.

“No bursts from the Eaphus system as of yet,” Coran reported. “Seems that the Galra fleet still have a jammer broadcasting as I'm not even getting stray transmissions from the moon or its waystation.”

“All that effort,” Allura said, “and we weren't even able to take out a battleship.” She had _seen_ this team take down Galra vessels before, even without Voltron's formation; although battleships were an entire class above the usual transport and scout vessels.

“Eh, I dunno,” Rian said, and she glanced over at him. Rian had seated himself comfortably at the Blue Paladin's console, and had the ship's systems up as well, working to bring the particle barriers back up to one hundred percent. “I'd say two crippled battleships and a frigate falling back into Eaphus's orbit isn't exactly a _bad_ outcome.” He shrugged. “There's also a whole host of freed prisoners running loose now. The fleet will be licking their wound for weeks, at the very least.”

Coran inclined his head a moment, and then looked back at them. “That is true, Princess. It wasn't just minimal damage inflicted by the Lions. The battleships may remain in the Eaphus system for weeks undergoing repairs.”

“I fail to see how that is an optimal outcome,” Allura said icily, “when we have left one of our own behind in their _midst._ ” She exhaled and realized that she was digging her fingers uncomfortably into the arm of her suit. Allura forced herself to relax her hand. “Keep scanning, Coran. If anyone can figure out a way to let us know that they're all right, it'll be Hunk.”

The main doors to the bridge opened, and Allura turned to see Matt, in his black flightsuit. “How is Pidge?” she asked, and he looked around the bridge and seemed momentarily lost.

“Healing,” Matt said.

“It's good to know that in a pinch the Green Lion will get along with an additional pilot,” Allura said, and Rian snorted. She ignored him. “I've never considered that the Lions may form bonds with others as well, it wouldn't be a bad idea to think about backup pilots. We were vastly crippled by being unable to form Voltron today.”

“Backup pilots have never been done,” Coran said. “But the Lions do have minds of their own, so maybe it bears consideration!”

“Yeah,” Matt said. “Listen though, I was thinking.” He glanced around the bridge again, looking for something that clearly was no there. “There were _way_ too many battleships in-system,” he said finally. “And that frigate. How did they all get there so fast?”

“Do the Galra ships warp?” Rian said. “I didn't think the big ones did. Takes too much energy, crystals don't come that large. I figured they only ran on quantum drives.”

“If they don't warp, that would mean that the battleships all like originated from the same location,” Allura said. “Do you think there's a base that's not on our starmap?” She dropped her hands to her sides. “Coran-”

Coran was already pulling up the starmap, anticipating Allura's line of inquiry almost immediately. “We've identified several Galra bases,” he said, and the known Galra bases were violet clusters in the midst of the teal-colored map. “As well as the heart of the Empire. However, there aren't any known bases near the Eaphus system.”

“You're missing three bases,” Rian said, squinting at his console.

“Five, I think,” Matt said, pointing to a blank spot. “There's definitely one right here, this is where we dumped our freighter and stole the starfighters.”

“If there's a Galra base nearby,” Allura said slowly, “perhaps the battleships won't linger in system, now that we've gone; and we'll be able to go back for Hunk.”

“That's strange,” Coran said. He pointed to a blank spot on the map between two star systems. “Here, there should be a binary system. But if I overlay our original map – he brought up a pinkish starmap, which showed the bright little star system. “There it is. Odd.”

“Your original map is, what, ten thousand years old?” Rian leaned forward. “Maybe the system went supernova in that time.”

“Ten thousand years is a blip of time to a star,” Matt said. “And if it went nova there would be a black hole, which would show darker on the map than just _nothing._ ” He tapped the forearm of his flightsuit where there was hard, shiny armor, and a small holographic map displayed. “It's missing off my map too,” he said. “Just like there was empty space between the systems.”

“That's not suspicious at all,” Rian leaned forward. “We're gonna check it out, right?”

“Later,” Allura said. “Our first priority is retrieving Hunk and the Yellow Lion.” She put her hand on her console. “Coran, resume your scans of the system. Hunk is out there, somewhere, and we'll find him.”

 

 

 

There really wasn't any good place on the ship to do this, so Keith stopped in one of the ready rooms. It was one that had entire walls of viewscreens, set to the belly cameras of the Castleship and currently showing nothing but an endless expanse of stars. It was a nice view to look at, if nothing else, because he wasn't sure that he would be able to deliver this directly to Shiro's face. “Keith,” Shiro said, walking through the doors behind him, and Keith shook his head sharply, his back still to Shiro.

“No,” he said. “Don't … just, let me talk, okay?”

Shiro said nothing in acknowledgment, and Keith didn't have the fortitude to face him yet, so he just plowed ahead. “The reason that Lance couldn't help out, the reason that he's in the healing pod is because of _me_.” Keith swallowed hard. “In the memory core, I...” _the sun filtered through a dome, the crunch of sand under his feet, the smell of blood thick in the air_ “It's my fault.”

Keith nearly jumped when Shiro's hand landed on his shoulder, warm and comforting. “Keith,” Shiro said softly. “I nearly got Lance killed in the memory core too; but the memory core isn't reality.”

“No,” Keith shook his head violently. “Shiro, it's not the same.”

“You can't hold yourself responsible,” Shiro said. “I'm sure Lance wouldn't.”

Keith shrugged himself out from under Shiro's hand and turned, because the words weren't fitting together right. “It's not the _same_ ,” he said again, insistently. “You don't understand, Shiro, I _killed_ him.” The words felt vile, and Keith felt sick spitting them out but Shiro had to know what he'd done, he had to understand what monster he'd invited into his bed. “I … _I_ killed him,” he said again. “We were fighting in a ring, and I just...” Keith inhaled raggedly, staring at the floor because he couldn't bring himself to look Shiro in the face. “He was trying to protect Rian, and I just cut him down.”

The silence stretched longer than Keith could bear. “I'm so sorry,” he whispered, and folded his arms against his chest, turning away.

Shiro let out a long, low sound that wasn't quite a sigh and wasn't quite a groan. Then he stepped forward and put his arm over Keith's shoulders, pulling him against Shiro. Keith's eyes flew open in surprise and he tried to jerk away, but Shiro used his prosthetic arm and that easily overpowered Keith, keeping him close. “What happens in the memory core is _not_ reality,” Shiro repeated, although there was a new tightness to his voice. “I know you, Keith. You would never purposefully hurt Lance, you _love_ him.”

Keith buried his face against Shiro's shoulder and somehow, a strangled noise escaped him. “I wish you did know me,” he said softly, as Shiro stroked his back slowly. “Maybe then you wouldn't be so forgiving.”

 

 

 

“Okay,” Hunk said, hanging slightly suspended, as red alert warnings flashed all along the left side of the Yellow Lion's cockpit. “ _Maybe_ that could have gone just a tiny bit better.” He tapped a control panel on his Paladin armor and the magnetic lock restraints that kept him in the pilot's seat released. Despite bracing himself Hunk still fell hard against the left viewscreens, flailing directly through several holographic consoles.

He sat up and shook his head, somewhat rattled, and then looked down at the displays he was seated on. The view outside was completely black, but from the right side viewscreens he could see night sky, and bare edge of a planet's curve. After a long moment the red flashing lights stopped and the warning klaxon went off, and Hunk felt the Yellow Lion grumble.

“Yeah okay, I'm sorry,” Hunk said. “Crash landings generally involve crashing. I'm not a pilot, I don't know what you want from me. I didn't want to crash either.” There was another rumble, and Hunk only felt a little bit ridiculous talking directly to the Yellow Lion like this. “Hey, at least we got away from the Galra, I'm sure they would have taken you apart to figure out how you ticked. How you tick. You're still ticking. You would only stop if they took you apart, which I'm not gonna let happen. You _would_ stop ticking if they took you apart, right?” He put one hand on the side of his helmet and frowned. “Do I have a concussion?”

Yellow apparently didn't feel like responding to _that_ , so Hunk scrambled to his feet and pressed around on the top interior of the Lion's cockpit, until he found the hatch. Fortunately, the hatch wasn't buried in the dirt and rubble from the aforementioned crash landing and he was able to clamber out of the Yellow Lion and onto the surface of the moon of Eaphus.

There was a long furrow of devastation in the forest behind the Yellow Lion, showing a direct path of descent. “Well, _that_ won't take them long to find us,” Hunk said, his hands on his hips. “Us. _Us._ Illianya!!”

Dirt and loose debris scattered as Hunk slid slightly down the side of the hill, to where the Yellow Lion's jaws were clamped tightly shut. “Come on girl,” he said, one hand on the jaw of the Yellow Lion. “I promise I'll dig you out and wash all the dirt of, just open up for me right now.”

It took a long moment before the Yellow Lion responded, but it slowly dragged open its jaw, and Hunk saw the ejection seat and the limp form in black still strapped to it. He hadn't had time to even think since the Yellow Lion scooped up the jump seat from the vacuum of space, between escaping the battleships and trying to figure out what to do without any radio contact all he knew was that he _had_ her.

Hunk climbed into the mouth of the Yellow Lion, over to the jump seat, and very carefully reached out to touch Illianya. “Please don't be dead,” he said, half under his breath. “Please don't be dead, _please_ don't be-” her shoulder was warm through the thick material of the flightsuit, and Hunk almost laughed in relief. “You're not _dead_ ,” he said excitedly, although Illianya didn't respond Hunk felt a million times better already. Okay, sure, they were crash-landed on the moon of a gas planet SURROUNDED by Galra fleet looking specifically for them, without any backup or extraction and okay, Hunk really needed to stop thinking about this because he was going to give himself a panic attack. He patted Illianya's shoulder, then worked on unstrapping her from her jump seat.

“Thank fuck, you're alive,” he said, then shook his head. “I have _got_ to stop hanging out with Lance, his language is _such_ a bad influence on me.”


	94. Chapter 94

The Yellow Lion stood out among the dark trees and craggy terrain like a beacon in the night. Even powered down and with the running lights as dim as possible the Lion was clearly visible for miles. "Well," Hunk said, arms folded as he sat in the pilot's chair. "I'm out of ideas."

It hadn't taken him very long to get Yellow both upright and operational again, but when Hunk opened the sensors the comm links came back filled with an ungodly volume of static. "Still being jammed," he said, looking at an expanded enemy map. All of the Galra ships were still in system, although it looked like most of the surviving drone starfighters had been recalled by the battleships. There were a few small wings of drones but according to the display none were low enough in orbit to get a visual read on the Yellow Lion. Hunk wiggled his feet, and then pulled up the IF/F transponder and made certain it was off. There was no point in broadcasting a location, it didn't look like the Castle of Lions was anywhere in-system, and the interference from the jammers was preventing the long-range sensors on the Yellow Lion from picking up the Castleship.

Hunk climbed out of the cockpit and hopped down the side of the Yellow Lion with the aid of his jetpack. There was a small, cozy fire lit between the paws of the great beast, and the overhang of its head covered most of the light of the fire from aerial view. Ilianya was lying against one of the Yellow Lion's paws, and when Hunk landed a little rough her head turned in his direction. "Hunk?"

"Ilianya? You awake?" Hunk scrambled over to her and she straightened up slowly, clearly in pain. "Are you okay? How are you feeling? Your flightsuit is vacuum resistant, but not 'being blown up' resistant, though when I scanned it there didn't seem to be any loss in its integrity..."

"You scanned me?" Ilianya said with a small smile, and Hunk stopped and blinked.

"Well, yeah," he said, and tapped the forearm plate of his armor. "I had to make sure that your flightsuit wasn't breached, there could have been all sorts of complications, up to and including," he raised his hand to start counting off issues on his fingers but Ilianya held up both her hands and managed to interrupt him before he could _really_  get going.

"My flightsuit is intact," she said. "No amputations necessary here." She rubbed her shoulder and winced, and then sat forward properly. "What's going on, where are the others?"

"I don't know," Hunk said. "We're back on Eaphus's moon, it seemed like the best idea at the time since we know the Galra have issues with the atmosphere; I mean the other option was trying to deep-dive in the outer atmosphere of Eaphus _itself_  but I didn't want to risk it with you still in Yellow's mouth."

"It was foolish of you to come after me," Ilianya said. "You've put Voltron in great danger. If the Galra find the Yellow Lion here they will be able to take it without much difficulty."

"Hey," Hunk said, insulted.

Ilianya paused, then shifted herself so she was seated more or less upright. Hunk hovered for a moment, clearly concerned, but she gave him an icy look and he backed off, seating himself not quite opposite her on the other side of the fire. Ilianya stretched her torso, rubbing her neck and winced, and then massaged her shoulder again. "The restraints in the ejector seat," Hunk said, and Ilianya looked up at him. "That's why your shoulder hurts, right? I'm sure the acceleration against the restraints wasn't pleasant. Your flightsuit is made of softer stuff than my armor." He knocked on the chest plate of his Paladin armor, but Ilianya didn't say anything. Hunk sighed and picked up a stick, poking at the fire with the tip of it.

"I wasn't gonna leave you," he said. "I couldn't."

"Thank you," Ilianya said softly, and Hunk looked up at her, startled. He had expected another reprimand but instead Ilianya shifted herself forward again and pulled at the back of her head, freeing her braid from where it was pinned up against her scalp. She pulled the hair free of its braiding, combing her fingers through it and sighing slightly in relief. Hunk had never seen her hair down, and in the firelight it sparkled like spun gold. "I was certain I was dead," she said, still combing her fingers slowly through her hair and working out the tangles as best she could. "I am very glad to be wrong."

"Yeah," Hunk said, and poked at the fire again. "Me too."

 

 

 

Lance slowly opened his eyes and realized groggily that he was once again inside a cryopod. He _really_ needed for this to stop being a thing. Lance exhaled slowly in the chilly air as the electronics beeped and buzzed, and when the pod finally opened and he staggered blearily out he was surprised to be caught in strong, familiar arms. Lance squinted at the expanse of chest in front of him, and when he recognized the scent he buried his face against Shiro's chest, sighing happily.

Shiro's hand rubbed Lance's back carefully. "Glad to have you back with us, Lance," Shiro said, and there was something a bit _off_  about his voice that Lance couldn't quite put together. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a frozen dinner," Lance groaned, and pushed himself off Shiro's chest, straightening to his full height in Shiro's arms. "The pod even beeps before it opens, like a freaking microwave oven or something." Shiro looked utterly exhausted, and Lance glanced around the room, surprised that Shiro was alone here. "What's going on? Where is everybody? What _happened_  to me, where's-" _sun on purple fur, golden eyes glowing, teeth bared_ "- _Keith._ "

There was a moment of absolute panic in which Lance was back in the memory core, and he choked on his breath. Shiro's arms tightened around him, he could sense Lance's distress and Lance swallowed hard and shook his head sharply because that wasn't _real._  It wasn't, he was here and alive and ... Keith wasn't here to face him. "What happened?" Lance asked again, his tone quieter.

"A lot," Shiro said truthfully. "Are you okay?" One hand crept up Lance's back and settled on the back of Lance's neck, thumb rubbing gently against the base of his skull. "I mean it, Lance, if you need more rest-"

"I need to talk to Keith," Lance said. "What do you mean, a _lot_  happened? What's a _lot?_  Where is everyone?" He looked around again, and this tie saw the second cryopod behind him. Shiro's hand tightened on the back of his neck for a second but Lance shrugged him free with effort and went to the cryopod, staring down at Pidge inside it. "Pidge," Lance said, his voice strangled.

"She's okay," Shiro said, and put his arm over Lance's shoulder. "She'll be out of the pod by the morning."

"She's _not_  okay, she's in the fucking cryopod, Shiro!" Lance's voice rose frantically. "What _happened?"_

"Pidge was injured leaving the Galra prison ship," Allura's voice came from the door, and Lance turned furiously, once again shrugging off Shiro's arm. "She'll be fine, Lance." As Allura walked into the room Keith skulked in behind her and glanced at Lance very hurriedly, but then looked away. The doors closed behind him.

It was weird, the way the panic settled in his chest, almost suffocating him. "Where's Hunk," Lance asked, expecting Allura to say something like ' _oh, he's putting together dinner, he'll be down in a moment,'_ except that this was _Hunk_ , and every other time he'd been in the cryopod when he woke up his best friend had been present. Lance looked at Shiro, who was watching him with the same concerned, tired expression; the exhaustion of a leader having been pushed too long evident in his features. Lance looked to Allura, whose concerned look was softer, padded, and finally to Keith; who did not raise his face to meet Lance's gaze.

"Where is Hunk," Lance asked again.

"Lance, I'm sorry," Allura said, and Lance turned to face her. She had her hands clasped in front of her and Lance felt light-headed, dizzy. This wasn't happening. "The Yellow Lion - and her Paladin - were left behind when we fled the system."

"You _left_  him?" Lance said, stunned.

"We didn't have a choice," Shiro's hand was heavy on his shoulder, and Lance almost crumbled under its weight. "We were outnumbered and outgunned, plus they were using a jamming array that we couldn't get through. He was cut off."

"If the Galra fleet disables the jammer we'll be able to scan for the Yellow Lion," Keith's arms were folded and his shoulders were slumped, he still wasn't looking at Lance directly. "If they haven't found him it'll be easy enough to go in and retrieve him."

"If he doesn't make it back to us first," Allura added. "Hunk is quite capable.  I'm sure he's just lying low until the heat is off." She smiled at Lance, and Shiro squeezed Lance's shoulder encouragingly. "Things aren't as dire as they appear."

Somehow, that didn't make Lance feel any better.

 

 

 

Matt sat in a crouch on the training deck floor, leaned against his staff as he watched Rian practice with his twin daggers. Rian must have come straight from the bridge to the training deck, because he had been well into his training workout by the time Matt arrived to join him. "I can't _believe_  you got to pilot a Lion before I did," Rian muttered, mostly under his breath but certainly still loud enough for Matt to hear.

"It wasn't exactly the best circumstances," Matt said. "My _sister_  got shot. Anyway, I'm not exactly the ideal candidate anyway. You remember how that went."

Rian said nothing, and continued through his kata without hesitation. Matt sighed and tapped his fingers along the staff but didn't rise out of his crouch. "Did they see anything in the memory core?"

Rian said nothing for another few moments finishing out the detailed moves of his kata before straightening, letting his arms drop to his sides. "They saw Ysander," he said, and made an obscene Altean gesture in the direction of the memory core.

"Clearly _that_  went well," Matt muttered.

"They also saw the arena," Rian added. "And the inside of the brig. And probably half the capital, easy, they were running around in ridiculous cloaks that smelled like piss." Rian flipped one dagger in his hand, catching it by the grip expertly. 

"What are we gonna do?"

Rian shrugged. "Doesn't matter, does it? The Council is keeping everyone on New Altea."

"For now," Matt pushed himself into a standing position, staff held tight to his body. "Seriously, though - _just_  Ysander?"

"Stop worrying so much," Rian said. He pointed at Matt with one of his daggers. "Are you just going to stand there and stress about your sister, or were you actually going to put your stick to use today?"

"It's not a _stick_ ," Matt said, but kicked off his shoes as he stepped onto the mat, squaring up to spar.

Neither of them noticed that the training doors had opened and closed once.


	95. Chapter 95

The launch bay of the Blue Lion was dim, and the overhead lights only came on when Lance stepped through the doors. It was well into the ship's night cycle, he'd had to wait far longer than he wanted because Shiro insisted on crawling into bed next to him and while Lance wasn't exactly opposed to cuddling with Shiro, it made slipping out all the more difficult. He had waited for Shiro to leave, but he didn't; instead he fell into a deep sleep with one arm slung over Lance's side. It made Lance feel terrible for leaving, but it didn't stop him, and to his surprise Shiro didn't even stir when Lance climbed out of bed, and he padded out into the hallway undisturbed.

He hadn't seen Keith since he emerged from the cryopod in the medical bay. When Lance went to the bridge, Keith wasn't there. He wasn't at the training deck either, and when Lance had screwed up the courage to visit Keith's room, that too was empty. The covers on the bed were still a mess, clothing strewn about; and Lance stood just outside the door and sighed deeply. There was no telling where Keith had hidden himself, but he clearly didn't want to face Lance just yet, and in a small, quiet way … Lance was glad. He had to do this, first.

So, when he stepped through the doors to the Blue Lion's launch bay Lance was fully kitted out in his Paladin armor. The lights flickered on, warm and strong, and Lance smiled at the sight of the Blue Lion, sitting upright and powered down. “Hey, beautiful,” he murmured, helmet tucked under his arm.

“Well, that took longer than I thought it would,” came from behind him, and Lance wasn't able to stop the small scream from escaping before he whipped around, helmet in one hand and prepared to fling it at his attacker.

It was Keith.

Lance froze in place as Keith pushed off the wall beside the door and straightened, cracking his neck. It took a long moment before Lance lowered his helmet, and he glared at Keith all the while. “You didn't have to  _scare_  me like that,” he said. “Were you seriously lurking in the dark like some kind of vampire, waiting on the off-chance I'd decide to take a page out of your book and be a fucking idiot?”

“You're here, aren't you?” Keith said, and folded his arms.

Lance scowled at him. “Don't try to stop me,” he used the helmet to point at Keith again. “I think that's what Shiro was doing sticking to me like glue since I woke up. It's been like six hours, Hunk should be back by now.”

“He's probably lying low,” Keith said, and let out a sigh. “Lance, you can't go after him,” he said. “I'm sorry.”

“No,” Lance said sharply. “Don't you 'I'm sorry' me, Keith. I'm going.” With a flourish Lance slapped his helmet on his head and turned on his heel, heading with purpose toward the Blue Lion. Keith detached himself from the wall and promptly planted himself in Lance's path, and Lance drew up short, his hands on his hips. “Keith,  _move._ ”

“No.” Keith folded his arms and jutted his chin, determined to stare down Lance.

Lance took one enormous step to the left and continued around Keith. “You're not the boss of me,” he said over his shoulder, neglecting to see that while he was arguing, the Blue Lion's particle barrier had raised to the ceiling. Lance walked straight into it, mid-stride, and vibrated in place for a second before he sat down hard, dazed. Keith appeared at his side but he hesitated in touching Lance. Lance stared up at the powered-down Blue Lion through the particle barrier, betrayed. “Blue, what the  _heck,_ ” Lance yelled, and kicked the particle barrier with his boot for good measure. “We gotta get Hunk!”

The Blue Lion did not respond, and Lance folded his arms and scowled. Then he looked over at Keith, who held out his hand to Lance, and begrudgingly took it allowing Keith to help him lever to his feet. “I can't believe it,” Lance muttered. “Betrayed by my own Lion.”

“You can't help Hunk if you race off and get yourself captured,” Keith said, his hand still tight on Lance's. Lance stared down at Keith's hand and then looked up at him, expression bewildered.

“That  _can't_  be coming from you,” he said. “Running off to do a stupid thing is, like, your trademark move. I call it 'doing a Keith.' It's a verb,” he added unnecessarily.

“What? No you don't.” Keith released his hand and folded his arms again, looking away.

Lance put his hands on his hips and looked up at Blue again, and then sighed loudly. “Well, I guess if Blue isn't cooperating, it's off to the shuttle bay.” That said, he turned sharply and headed back toward the door.

“ _Lance_ ,” Keith said, and hurried after him, grabbing Lance by the shoulder and yanking him back. Lance reacted like he was scalded, jumping away from Keith and putting some distance between them. Keith's arm hung in the air a moment before he dropped it to his side. “Lance,” Keith said, softer this time. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean...”

“To gut me like a fish? Yeah, I know.” Lance wrapped his arms around himself and only looked up when he heard Keith recoil, inhaling sharply. His eyes had gone wide and Lance felt a little bad, but not enough to recant his wording. Lance looked away. “Look, Keith, I-”

However, before he could even get started on that particular train of thought Keith thrust the handle of his dagger in Lance's face. Lance blinked, completely confused by this action. “What?”

“Take it,” Keith said.

“Dude, that's … your knife,” Lance held up both of his hands, and Keith wiggled the handle insistently in Lance's face until Lance took the dagger from him, fearing he was going to cut himself on the blade. “Why are you giving me your knife?” He looked from the dagger to Keith, who was now in the process of taking off his familiar red jacket. “Okay, remember what I just said about 'doing a Keith? Are you doing a Keith right now, Keith?”

“Stop saying my name like that,” Keith said.

“Why did you hand me your knife,” Lance said, suspicious.

“Stab me.”

“Are you fucking  _nuts?_ ” Lance's voice nearly broke on the last syllable.

Keith patted his stomach. “If you stab me, we'll be even, and we don't have to have this weirdness between us. You can schlep me right into a cryopod even, it's fine.”

“Keith, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but what the actual living and breathing  _fuck_  is wrong with you?” Lance carefully placed the dagger on the floor. “I don't want to stab you. Maybe, I dunno, kick you in the junk now and again because you're you, but I don't want to actually  _stab_  you.”

Keith flung both of his arms out helplessly. “Then how do I fix this, Lance?” His voice sounded more lost than Lance had ever heard, absolutely desperate. “I don't want you to be scared of me!”

“I'm scared of Shiro too,” Lance said, after the echo of Keith's words had died in the air. The expression that quirked across his face was painful, and a bit sad. “It's not like you're in bad company.”

Keith let his arms fall to his sides. “Lance,” he said, pained.

“I'm scared of a lot of things, though,” Lance said. “Space is fucking terrifying, man, don't tell Hunk I said that but it's scary as shit out here. I'm scared every time I climb into Blue's cockpit.” Lance took off his helmet slowly and exhaled. “I'm scared every time I kiss you it's going to be the last time.”

Keith didn't say anything, watching him with a watery expression.

“What happened, happened,” Lance said. “I'm not happy about it and we're gonna have to deal with it, but it doesn't change the way I feel about you, okay? And fucking,” he toed at Keith's dagger, still on the floor. “Don't do this shit. I don't want you to get hurt, I don't want to hurt  _you_ , I just … I want things to be okay. And that's going to take some time.”

“You said you wanted to kick me in the junk,” Keith said.

“That's affectionate,” Lance said. “You see, on Earth, among Earth-people, they occasionally commit acts of comedic violence to show affection.”

Keith said flatly, “Lance, I  _did_  live on Earth. For quite a while, actually.”

“Yeah, you could really fool me sometimes, Captain Fuzzypants.” Lance glanced back over his shoulder at Blue. “So, you coming with?”

Keith hesitated in picking up his dagger. “With?”

“Going to rescue Hunk.”

“Lance, we can't.” Keith shrugged back on his jacket. “I know you want to,  _I_  want to, but they've still got the jammers going. If we get into trouble, then we've handed the Galra three Paladins instead of one.”

“Hunk would come back for us,” Lance said firmly. “I'll go alone if I have to.”

Before Keith could respond to that, Blue powered up suddenly. She didn't drop the particle barrier, but the Lion shifted from the seated, powered-off position into a crouch. Both Lance and Keith wheeled around to face the Lion when it roared, the sound wave enough that it nearly blasted the two of them sideways. After a few, ear-ringing seconds, three other, identical roars echoed from the other Lion's launch bays. “What in the  _hell_?” Lance yelled, but Keith turned on his heel and sprinted toward the door. Lance stared at Blue, and then followed him.


	96. Chapter 96

“That's the fourth patrol in the last half varga,” Ilianya said, holding her hand over her eyes as she stared up at the night sky. The dark arrowhead shapes of the sentry patrol flight were visible against the backdrop of Eaphus, casting dim illumination across its many satellites. “They're narrowing down the search grid. We can't stay here, we'll be discovered before long.”

“If we move Yellow that'll bring down the entire fleet on us,” Hunk said. “And, uh, not going to lie here – I'm not exactly the best fighter pilot in the whole galaxy.”

They had long since put out the campfire, letting the creeping not-dark of night on the moon of Eaphus overtake them. The wings of Galra sentry drones had been sweeping lower and lower as the night wore on, the brief hum of the engines marking the passage of time. Ilianya retreated from her vantage point back underneath the belly of the Yellow Lion, as it was now crouched as low to the ground as it could. That still left more than enough room for them both to walk upright. “We can't stay here,” Ilianya said again, and didn't sit.

“Are you suggesting we abandon Yellow?” Hunk said, affronted.

“It is preferable to being captured.”

“I can't do that!” Hunk put his hand flat against the Yellow Lion's leg. “I'm not going to just _let_ the Galra haul Yellow off like … like some sort of trophy!” The thought of that was actually so distressing it caused a knot to form in Hunk's chest. “There's got to be a better plan.”

“Unless you feel confidant that you can pilot us through whatever barricade the Galra fleet has constructed to ensnare us,” Ilianya said, her voice taking on a cold edge, “I see no other option. I am not waiting around to be taken prisoner.” She turned away, staring out at the dark landscape.

“Well, the Galra can't come down to the surface of the moon itself anyway,” Hunk said, folding his arms. “They can only send down the sentries.”

“What?” Ilianya half-turned to look at him, a frown on her face.

“Yeah,” Hunk said. “Allura told us that there's something in the atmosphere here that makes it difficult for the Galra to breathe. Some sort of chemical that's already present in the atmosphere and yet doesn't affect the rest of us oxygenated beings.” He leaned forward, arms still folded and shoulders slumping. “But I bet they could just wear their masks and be fine, like in space. But … why haven't they done that already? When we were here earlier” he kept talking, more now to himself than Ilianya, working out the problem verbally. “We didn't see a single Galra in any of the cities. Even though the waystation in orbit is a refueling point and entertainment arena. Why _is_ that? Why wouldn't they bother to come down to the surface?”

“It isn't worth the risk?” Ilianya said. “I don't see how that's relevant.”

“But _why_ isn't it worth the risk?” Hunk said. “Zarkon would have been here. The temples are connected to Voltron and he knows that.”

“How would the Emperor of the Galra know _that_?” Ilianya said, and Hunk gave her a weird look.

“Because he was a Paladin?”

“Of _Voltron?”_

Hunk blinked at her. “You didn't know that?”

Ilianya shook her head sharply. “We knew that Zarkon was a close friend of King Alfor, and that he betrayed Voltron leading to the death of its Paladins, but...” Ilianya covered her mouth with one hand. “To think that there was a non-Altean Paladin prior to your team...”

“Preeeeeetty sure that Alfor was the _only_ Altean, actually,” Hunk said, and Ilianya _stared_ at him. “Okay, um, but we'll deal with that later.” Hunk snapped his fingers suddenly. “The _temples!_ ”

“I'm so lost,” Ilianya said.

“The temples house the memory cores,” Hunk said, moving with determination toward the head of the Yellow Lion. “They're connected to the Lions somehow. By quintessence, probably.” A hatch in the underbelly of the Lion opened, above Hunk's head. He waited a moment, looking at Ilianya, and then when she didn't move he made a step with his hands gesturing with his head toward the hatch well above their heads.

It took another embarrassingly long moment before Ilianya got it, then she smiled at Hunk, put her foot in the step he created with his hands, and jumped up, hooking the edge of the hatch with her hands and effortlessly pulled herself inside. Hunk followed a moment later, thanks to the boosters in his Paladin armor.

Once in the cockpit, Hunk situated himself in the pilot's chair. “Okay,” he said to Yellow, resting his hands on the flight controls. “Can you bring up all systems with no exterior running lights? Zero. We don't want to help those sentry patrols at all.” The interior systems all lit live in shades of gold and Hunk grinned at the readouts. Nothing showed red, the Yellow Lion's self-maintenance systems had repaired all issues in standby. Thank goodness for Altean tech. “So the memory cores are connected to the Lion's quintessence,” Ilianya said, standing beside Hunk's flight chair. “I don't understand how that can help us.”

“The memory cores are some weird and unfathomable bits of Altean technology,” Hunk said, and then winced, glancing over at Ilianya guiltily as if expecting reproach. “I mean, I think they're Altean. We never did figure out who made them and Allura wasn't clear on it, but the tech is insane and it might as well be magic. I mean, it pops us into _memories._ So I hear. That's some crazy stuff. But, if they're connected to the Lions by quintessence, maybe they're just, like … some weird off-site hardware backups.”

“Like a computer,” Ilianya said, and Hunk nodded his head sharply in agreement.

“Exactly! Like, an external hard drive or something. Pidge _was_ able to hook her computer up to it, even if she wasn't able to make sense of the readings.”

“Okay, great,” Ilianya gestured at the Yellow Lion's console. “So how do we use that?”

“I have _no_ idea.” Hunk lifted his hands from the flight controls and folded his arms, staring at the console lit gold in front of him.

There was silence for a moment. “What do you _mean_ you have no idea!?” Ilianya braced her hand on the back of Hunk's chair. “Can't you get the Lion talking to the memory core?”

“This whole quintessence thing? That's magic too. Magic, is like...” Hunk wiggled his hand in the air. “It shouldn't be a thing but it is. It _shouldn't_. There are _laws_ to physics, you know, and frankly this whole quintessence thing-”

“ _Hunk._ ”

“Magic is science we just don't understand yet,” Hunk parroted, and then made a pained expression. “Sorry.” He looked at the display, then leaned forward to access the console. “I'll figure something out, I guess.”

Ilianya looked to the radar that showed the flight of Galra sentries, flying even lower this time. It wouldn't be long until they were discovered. “Hurry,” she said.

“Man, I wish this thing came with an instruction manual,” Hunk grumbled half to himself as he hunched forward over the console, squinting at a display that had popped up above the gold-tinted holographic keyboard. As he spoke another display popped directly to his left, scrolling quickly and chock full of lines of text in that squiggly Altean script that Pidge was still picking at learning. “In _English_ ,” Hunk specified, and the display closed just as abruptly as it opened.

Scanning for weird energy signatures took, well, energy, and he wasn't even _sure_ what kind of energy signatures that the memory cores put out – if they even put out any at all. What he wouldn't give for a direct line to Pidge at the moment, he wished he had paid attention more when she complained about her research into the monolith they'd dragging into the training room. “Can you scan for quintessence?” he asked aloud as he typed, because Yellow seemed to like it better when he actually talked to her. The Lion seemed almost to purr in response.

The forward viewscreens lit, showing the dark landscape of the moon's forest stretched out below them. Now, however, there seemed to be a filter over the viewscreen, and there were faint color trails underneath the rocky terrain and glittering slightly as they moved. A rainbow array of energy signatures. “Huh,” Hunk said, surprised that had actually worked.

“It's beautiful,” Ilianya said. “The quintessence.”

“Yeah,” Hunk said softly, a little awed. “It is.”

They watched it in silence for a few moments, until the tell-tale rumble of a low-flying Galra sentry seemed to snap Hunk back to business. “If only we could figure out how to pick out the memory core's signature from that mess,” he said, hand hovering above the holographic keyboard. On his words the other colors on the filter faded out and thin golden strands, fainter than the others, became visible underneath the dirt. They looked like gold veins with the filter overlaid on the viewscreen, and they all seemed to flow in one direction, toward the mountains that Hunk knew lay beyond their view.

“All right,” Hunk said. “Looks like we're headed back to the temple of Empedocles.”

 

 

 

The Yellow Lion was, by a certain margin, the slowest of the Voltron Lions. It had to do with the sheer amount of mass, the weight of the thick, heavy armor bogging the Lion down – but that being said, she could still haul ass when needed, and haul ass she did well. Hunk kept them as low to the ground as he dared, the Yellow Lion hurtling through the unoccupied, unsettled wilderness of the moon of Eaphus knowing full well that the sentries would pick up the brightly-colored Lion sooner or later. It was only a matter of time, but he could still do his best to keep them off the radar for as long as possible.

It was still night on that side of the moon, where the temple of Empedocles lay in partial, sand-drenched ruin; however it didn't _seem_ like night, the veins of gold running under the surface glowing brighter and bright until they converged underneath the temple, glimmering bright as day.

“I can't believe that worked,” Hunk said, as the Yellow Lion landed in a crouch with its belly close to the ground. “Scan the temple, Yellow, we've got to figure out how to get that memory core talking to _you_.”

The golden glow through the filter pulsed, and that drew Hunk's attention to the viewscreen. “Oh,” Ilianya said, and Hunk realized at the same time that all the internal systems; the holographic displays and everything that traditionally ran golden in the cockpit had begun to glow even brighter than before.

“It's like the energy is overloading,” Hunk said, pulling the diagnostics up immediately, checking to make sure that that the internal systems weren't about to go sideways on them.

The Yellow Lion shifted without Hunk's input, standing fully upright from its crouch, before letting forth a full-bellied roar.

“Uh,” Hunk said, raising his hands as half a dozen new displays, all tinged with that brilliant shimmering gold, started popping up in the air around him. “ _That's_ new.”

There was no response from Ilianya, and Hunk glanced over to her only to find her absent. He twisted halfway around, looking behind his seat in case she was pulling a Lance and picking the absolutely most inopportune time for a practical joke. “Ilianya?” There was no response. Hunk turned back toward all the displays and waved his hand through them, looking for the local low-baud comm, but as he waved his hand the displays did not react to him dismissing them. Instead, the viewscreen of the Lion went dim, but not completely out.

“What the _heck_ ,” Hunk said, and waved his hands at the displays again. “Ilianya, where did you _go_? Yellow, respond, I need to figure out what's-” abruptly, even more so than before, the cockpit of the Yellow Lion seemed to vanish around him. “…happening...” Hunk said in a small voice, into the void.

 

 

 

The golden light through the forward viewscreen filter pulsed once, bright as day, before the Yellow Lion lifted the filter from the viewscreen and showed the temple of Empedocles as it was; old and ruined, half-buried in the desert sands. Ilianya had been slightly blinded by the pulse, raising her hand on reflex to block the light, but the moment it faded she realized that all the interior displays of the Yellow Lion had gone from their original gold to a brighter, glimmering hue. “Amazing,” she said, as Hunk hunched forward over the flight controls. “You did it, how?”

Hunk did not immediately respond. Ilianya reached forward to touch his shoulder when suddenly Hunk yanked back on both flight controls simultaneously. The Yellow Lion launched off the ground in a single movement, violently shooting straight up and into the air. Ilianya was flung backwards, totally unprepared for the sudden acceleration, and slammed back against the wall, jarring her injured shoulder hard. She swore violently in Altean, grabbing a handhold on the bar that ran at head-height along the inside of the cockpit and yanking herself forward against the force of gravity even as the Yellow Lion broke out of the lower atmosphere of the moon.

“What the _quiznack_ are you doing!?”

In low orbit the interal compensators kicked in and the g-forces fell off; so Ilianya was able to lunge forward and grab the back of the pilot's chair without having to worry about going tail over teakettle a second time. The Yellow Lion hung in orbit for a moment, the scanners pulsing a bright yellow as several sentry craft rose out of orbit as well, marking their position. There was no time to be angry. “We've been spotted,” she said, and curiously Hunk again did not respond but instead the Yellow Lion seemed to shudder all over and around them before letting out a large, mighty roar.

The cockpit's noise dampeners kicked in very quickly, thankfully. Before Ilianya could react again the Yellow Lion leaped forward and dove after the sentries.

There were four of the craft to a flight, and Yellow tore through them like lizznik paper. Hunk flew straight into their midst and the sentry drones, having zero in the way of particle barriers, simply impacted against the head and chest armor of the Yellow Lion, disintegrating on contact. The other two veered off in opposite directions. “ _Hunk_ ,” Ilianya yelled, hoping her voice hadn't gone high. Hunk seemed to ignore her, turning Yellow and darting after the first of the drones trying to escape. “Escaping, remember? We have to find the Castleship, can you maybe use the boost from the memory core to break through the long-range comm jammers?”

Hunk lifted his head finally but didn't look back at her. His face in profile looked _different_ , somehow, but Ilianya was too focused on the displays to realize it right away. He didn't respond at all to her voice, but he did pull the Lion out of the pursuit of the drone ship, instead looping the Yellow Lion around and aiming it toward the closest of the Galra battleships, already large enough to see with the naked eye on the viewscreen.

Okay, _now_ she was panicked. “Hunk, _no_ ,” she said, as the HUD started to show a mass of red blips spilling from the battleship. The Galra would try for capture first, and they would _easily_ be overwhelmed in moments. “We've got to get out of here!”

This time, when he didn't respond, Ilianya grabbed him angrily by the shoulder and yanked. It took a moment for the action to register, and when he turned his head to look at her blankly Ilianya's heart froze in her chest.

His eyes were solid gold.

Ilianya's fingers curled, tightening on the pilot's chair. The voice of authority spilled out of her without thinking. “We have to get back to the Castleship,” she said, voice tight. “That's an _order_ , Paladin.”

For the first time the words seemed to properly register. Hunk's head snapped back around to the viewscreen as the first pair of sentry drones from the battleship reached them, doing a flyby. Their linked plasma blasts making the Yellow Lion shudder when they impacted against the armor. Hunk twitched the Lion aside, delicately avoiding the next set of plasma blasts and twisting in the same motion so that the Yellow Lion's tail laser strafed the entire incoming flight, then inverted. Ilianya watched the entire starfield spin dizzingly fast as Hunk ran the Lion parallel to the moon's atmosphere and realized that the drag on the Lion from the outer reaches of the atmosphere was creating a burn that would blast static across the offense's radar, playing havoc with their sensors while still building up enough energy for the Lion to slingshot around the moon and head for the outer reaches of the system.

“Get us home, Yellow,” Ilianya said, as the entire craft shuddered hard at the constant stress of the upper atmospheric burn. The engines rumbled and complained loudly as they broke free of the atmosphere again and using the acceleration boost to blast past one of the Galra battleships faster than it could bring its turrets to bear. The delaying tactic had confused at least half of the drone craft but there was still a cloud of red blips on their tail, and the exit vector that Yellow had picked apparently was the same one that one of the other battleships was hanging out in.

“The entire solar system, and you picked _this_ exit vector,” Ilianya said, when Hunk's hand flung out suddenly and slammed atop one of the holographic consoles. The Lion started to slow, and several Galra sentries that had been about to catch up with them either had to veer off or actually impacted with the Yellow Lion, causing several sensors to the aft to turn red.

In front of the Yellow Lion, between the Galra battleship and them, a wormhole opened.

“The Lions can make wormholes?” _That_ wasn't in the textbooks. Although to be fair, it did look like a highly unstable wormhole, so maybe there was a reason that the Lions didn't regularly make them. The wormhole was already shrinking fast despite the fact that they were still approaching it, so the Yellow Lion accelerated, leaping forward in space and sailing into the wormhole just ahead of some of the sentry drones. Ilianya didn't look at the rear sensors to see how many made it through the jump with them, concerned more with them making it _through_ the wormhole, all the way.

They spilled out into empty space, the Yellow Lion at half speed now, and the wing of a sentry drone ricocheted off the head of the Lion, making Ilianya jump. There were no active red dots on the HUD, and as the Yellow Lion drifted at half speed, more debris shot past them. “We made it,” Ilianya said, and then smacked Hunk's shoulder. “If you _knew_ that the Yellow Lion could wormhole, why didn't we just do that from the start?”

His head slowly twisted to look at her again and she had forgotten just that fast. Blank expression, gold eyes. The terror that had sat in her chest suddenly drowned in her anger, and Ilianya grabbed Hunk's face by the chin, jerking his head slightly forward. “I know you're in there,” she said sharply. “You got us out of there, Hunk, c'mon, you can fight this too!”

No response, no expression, and he didn't even try to pull his head out of her tight grip. Ilianya made a noise of anger and tore the helmet to his Paladin armor off his head. He clearly wasn't expecting _that,_ although he didn't fight back, and he expected it even less when Ilianya kissed him.

Hunk's eyes went huge and immediately back to normal. Around them both the bright golden displays shimmered and returned to their normal, more muted coloring; and when Ilianya finally released Hunk he stuttered vocally, completely perplexed. “...what?” he finally managed, as Ilianya looked at the displays around them. “What just … what just _happened?_ ”

Ilianya leaned forward, her arm still draped over the back of the pilot's chair. “You got us away from the Eaphus system,” she said.

“I … I _did?_ ” Hunk said, looking around the cockpit in confusion. “We were at the temple, how did we – _Lance?”_

Ilianya's head jerked up and she realized that, now freed from the system-wide radio transmission blackout that the video comm channel had opened automatically on the forward viewscreen. Lance's head and shoulders were in frame, wearing his Paladin armor, and along with that he was also wearing the absolutely _biggest_ shit-eating grin on his face, with one hand in absolutely no way covering it. “Why Hunk, you _sly_ dog,” he said. “No _wonder_ you took your time getting back!”


	97. Chapter 97

When Hunk brought the Yellow Lion into its hangar bay, it felt like the whole Castleship turned out to greet them. Granted, there were barely ten people all told including Hunk and Illianya, but it still felt like a lot, especially when Lance practically jumped Hunk as he emerged from the Lion’s loading ramp and wrapped his arms around him. “Don’t freaking _scare_  me like that,” Lance said, as Hunk patted his back.  
  
Illianya, on the other hand, was nearly knocked off her feet by Rian; who wrapped around her almost as quickly as Lance had wrapped around Hunk. Hunk and Illianya exchanged amused expressions, but the moment was quickly overwhelmed because Pidge was two steps behind Lance and Allura was on _her_  heels. By the time Keith got to them, both Hunk and Illianya were squished together by the massive group hug, and it was Illianya who lost her balance first, buried under the lot of them.

  
  
#

  
  
”The Lions went ballistic,” Lance said, as they all stood on the bridge, arrayed around Allura’s command post. “Like, all of them. At the same time.” He had his arms folded and a thoughtful expression on his face, his shoulder slumped forward; and for some reason Keith stood much closer to him than usual. Shiro shook his head, his own arms folded, and looked to Hunk, the only one still in his Paladin armor.  
  
“They woke the entire ship,” Shiro said. “All four of them fed into each other.”  
  
“That is troubling,” Allura said, as if she hadn’t been awakened by the Lions just like everyone else. “I don’t have any idea what they could be reacting _to._ Coran?”

”Perhaps they were reacting to Yellow’s distress,” Coran said. “The Lions do have many secrets that even the original Paladins had not had a chance to unlock.”

“We weren’t in _that_  much distress,” Illianya said. Rian was standing slightly behind her and to her left, and she kept glancing at him with a small frown on her face. “I don’t see how they would react to that.”

“Speak for yourself,” Hunk said. “I was in _plenty_  of distress.”

“In any case,” Allura said, “this entire endeavor was an unmitigated _disaster._ ” She cast a severe glance over the lot of them, and all but Shiro and Illianya lowered their gazes and shuffled sheepishly in place. “Voltron was almost destroyed by your inability to work together! What happened to all the progress we have made as a team? Everyone going off on their own was a terrible decision.”

“It was my fault,” Pidge said, without raising her head. Everyone glanced to her, and Matt put out his arm, standing up from where he’d been leaning against her chair.

“Oh no, little sister,” he said. “You’re not taking the blame for this. It was my idea, Princess,” he addressed Allura. “I convinced Pidge to take us to the waystation with the intention of gathering intel and freeing the prisoners.”

“It was too _my_  idea,” Pidge said, head shooting up and sounding insulted. “You lit up like Christmas when I told you about the modified cloaking shield I’ve installed on Green, but it was still my suggestion to take her out for a spin.”

Matt’s eye glinted, and Allura held up her palm, hoping to halt the argument before it could start in earnest. “Regardless of whose fault it was,” she said, sharply, “it is clear that our training is only just beginning. We’ve wasted our chance for you to retrieve your totems, as well.” She groaned. “I can’t think of any way that we could return to the surface of Eaphus’s moon to complete the trials.”

“We wouldn’t have been able to complete them anyway,” Shiro reminded her. “The air temple was completely destroyed.”

“Yeah, the earth temple was a mess when I was inside,” Hunk added. “Althouhg I think that the memory core _was_  in there, there were a lot of glow-y vaguely threatening hieroglyphs and stuff, I don’t know how safe it all was.”

Keith said nothing, his arms folded, but Lance sensed him edging closer into his personal space.

“I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” Pidge said. “I got _my_  totem.”

“ _What?”_  Lance, Hunk and Keith’s voices all overlapped Allura’s in surprised. Pidge blinked and pushed her glasses back up her nose, giving the lot of them a frown.

“You don’t have to sound so surprised,” she said archly.

“Let’s see it then,” Lance said, and Keith rubbed a hand over the bottom of his face, frowning. “Because, you know, I would _love_  to have known about this whole totem thing _before_ ,” he looked at Allura pointedly, “going into the memory core.”

“We all know you didn’t get a totem,” Keith said.

“You cam out of yours purple and fuzzy, I don’t want to hear it,” Lance snapped back, and then hesitated at the way Keith flinched at looked away. “Keith, man-”

“Pidge, what is your totem?” Shiro asked, his voice rising to quell everyone else’s. Pidge shuffled herself around in the seat, pulling her legs up to sit on them crossed and then fidgeted in place a moment more.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” she said finally, and Lance groaned loudly.

Allura shot Lance a sharp glare. “It’s okay, Pidge,” she said. “Just try.”

“I saw … it was like a fox,” she said finally. “Except, it was mossy and green, kinda looked like it would be a forest spirit of some kind.” There was a distant expression on her face, and then she shook her head sharply as if to clear it. “Yeah, I mean … it let me pet its head and that’s about the time the memory core kicked me out. So I think my totem is … a fox? Something vulpine, at least.” She looked over at Allura questioningly, and Allura nodded her head rapidly, a large smile on her face.

“Yes, yes!” she said. “The totem appears to their Paladin in the form of an animal from their homeworld, of course! Father spoke of his totem as a grifflespurt, we used to keep them around the castle when I was younger.” Allura looked distant herself for a moment, while Lance and Hunk exchanged a look and mouthed ‘grifflespurt?’ at each other.

“Okay, so I got my totem then,” Pidge said, crossing her arms and looking smug.

“Have we ever figured out the point of the totem in the first place?” Keith asked. “I mean, can’t we just bond with our Lions the old-fashioned way?”

“What _is_  the old-fashioned way?” Hunk wondered, and arms folded Keith shrugged.

“I’m afraid that it’s hard to explain how the totem deepens your bond,” Allura said. “As I haven’t experienced that bond myself. But I do know that it made the original Paladins stronger, and as a whole made Voltron stronger as well.” She smoothed her hands over her skirts and glanced to the side, at one of the hovering holographic terminals to her right. “We’ll debrief more later,” she said, finally. “It is a relief that everyone is now safe and whole, so a short rest is not out of line before we start _vigorously_  correcting the faults in your training.”

“Well, that just sounds terrible,” Lance said. “Count me out. I wasn’t the one in trouble.”

Allura gave Lance a sweet smile. “Bright and early, Lance.”

Shiro inclined his head. “Lance, Keith,” he said in his authoritative, head-of-Voltron voice. “Hang around a minute, we need to talk to you.”

“What were you saying about being in trouble?” Pidge said in a teasing tone, as she followed Matt off the bridge. Lance groaned loudly and spun on his heel, jamming his hands into the pockets of his jacket as they waited for the bridge to clear.

“So,” Shiro said, looking between them. “Do either of you want to tell me what, exactly, is going on?”

Lance and Keith exchanged looks, and then both looked at Shiro. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lance said, as Keith responded, “Lance was going to go after Hunk.” There was a brief stretch of stunned silence, and then Lance put his hand on his chest and looked at Keith, betrayed. “Well I _never._ ”

Shiro sighed as Keith gave Lance an angry look. “There’s no point to lying about it,” Keith said, pragmatic at least, but all the same Lance folded his arms and glared right back.

“Lance,” Shiro said. “That was incredibly foolish.”

“No,” Lance said. “It’s my fault Hunk as left behind, he’s my best friend, of _course_  I was going after him.” He pointed at Keith. “Keith was coming with me!”

Now it was Keith’s turn to look surprised. “I never said that.”

“You were _totally_  coming with me,” Lance said.

“I was there to _stop you._ ”

“Lance,” Allura’s voice overrode theirs. “Hunk being left behind wasn’t your fault. If it was anybody’s, it as mine for ordering the retreat.”

Lance looked her square in the eye. “If I hadn’t gotten hurt in the memory core, I would have been out there with you. We could have formed Voltron and routed the cruisers.”

“You only got hurt because of me,” Keith said, anger again rising in his voice. “You can’t take the blame for something _I_  did.”

“We’re a team,” Lance was still staring at Allura with a peculiar intensity. “Failure and success are both shared in equal measure, right, Allura?”

“Yes,” Allura said. “And that also means that you can’t take sole responsibility for this. It is shared among us all. Be that as it may,” she added, placing her hands on her hips, “I don’t want to hear about _anyone_  going off on their own again, is that clear?”

“Yes,” Lance said, and after a moment Keith nodded his head as well.

“I’m glad to see that we all understand,” Allura said pleasantly. “Shiro, I expect to see everyone bright and early in the training room tomorrow morning.” Her piece finished, Allura picked up the two mice who had been sitting on her console for the entire debrief, setting them on her shoulders before leaving the bridge to Shiro. Lance and Keith both watched her go, and then turned back to see that Shiro’s expression was still troubled.

Lance let out a large sigh. “Sorry we’re such disappointments, Shiro,” he said, and Keith elbowed him sharply in the ribs. “ _Ow._ ”

“Neither of you are disappointments,” Shiro said. He shifted a little and then unfolded his arms, holding them out. Without hesitation Keith moved forward, sliding in under Shiro’s offered arm. Lance did hesitate a moment, but followed suit and Shiro hugged them both close. “It’s been a long couple of days,” Shiro said into their hair as they both pressed close. “But I love you both very much, please don’t scare me like that again.”

Lance closed his eyes, Shiro’s arm tight over his shoulders and forehead pressed to the top of Lance’s head. This wasn’t quelling the strange emptiness that had sprung up in his chest but he still felt better, at least. “Sorry I tried to kill you,” Keith mumbled, his warmth pressed to Lance’s other side. “Literally.”

“Please stop bringing it up,” Lance said without opening his eyes.

“You’re not going to let me forget it any time soon so I might as well,” Keith said, and Shiro let out a disgruntled noise as Lance opened his eyes, considering this.

“You know what, you’re right,” he said. “What sort of prize does ‘being skewered by your boyfriend’ net you? And not in the fun way,” he added, as this time Shiro actually groaned and lifted his head.

“No,” Shiro said. “We’re not doing this.”

“No, really, I need to know what this is worth,” Lance said thoughtfully. Now Keith groaned, and buried his face in Shiro’s chest. “Is this a ‘get out of training free’ card, because if so I’m invoking it the fuck now; Allura is going to kill us all tomorrow and possibly laugh as she stands over our graves.”

The bridge doors opened and everyone glanced in that direction, to see Matt tentatively leaning in. “Oh good,” Matt said. “You’re not having sex. Pidge and I are attempting to make pancakes out of … stuff, do you want in?”

“ _Stuff?”_  Shiro said, bypassing the rest of Matt’s statement.

“I’m in!” Lance said, wiggling out from under Shiro’s arm. “I haven’t had pancakes since we were on Earth! And Keith’s in too,” he announced, grabbing Keith by the shirt and pulling him after before he could voice opposition. This time, Shiro made a resigned noise of amusement and followed them all off the bridge.

 

#

 

So the pancakes weren’t a _complete_  disaster, although Lance had to fetch a strangely-flustered Hunk to come deal with the pancake batter because it kept attempting to crawl up the mixing spoon. “You know that’s not natural, right?” Keith said, seated on the island counter and holding a drink between his hands, watching the chaos neutrally.

Illianya joined them a little while later, her golden hair down for the first time that most anyone had seen. Rian was following her like a lost puppy and giving Hunk absolutely dirty looks, which Lance caught on to _immediately_  and locked in on the fact that Rian had some sort of puppy crush on Illianya with deadly accuracy. Keith watched Lance follow Rian around the galley for a bit, teasing him mercilessly until Illianya actually stepped in and put Lance on the floor with a simple throw.

That was the point that Hunk threw everyone out of the kitchen, and they filed to where the big table was in the dining area, Lance massaging his shoulder but blushing pink at the same time. “What is it with you and Alteans?” Keith asked as Lance settled into a chair, both elbows on the table and chin in his hands with a dreamy expression on his face. “You don’t have a crush on _her_  now too, right?”

“What?” Lance looked affronted. “No!”

“You’re mooning over being thrown around like a rag doll,” Keith pointed out, and Lance tilted his head in his hands so he could cast a sly look down the table at Shiro, seated in a chair on his left with his arms folded and his eyes closed as if he was ignoring the commotion all around him.

“A guy’s got his kinks,” Lance said, and to his amusement Shiro’s mouth quirked. He _was_  paying attention. “I mean, there _is_  a line, though,” his attention drifted back to Keith. “A line in the sand, if you will.”

Keith flinched, although he tried hard not to. Lance didn’t say anything for a moment and Keith looked away. “All I’m saying is I’m not into knife play,” Lance said, but it was a little too late. Fortunately at that point Hunk brought in a very large platter of pancakes that were all a mossy green color. Lance was very glad that he’d gotten used to the peculiarities of Space Food because these were _very_  green.

“I have no idea how these turned out,” Hunk announced, “since I didn’t make the batter, so you can all blame Matt if they make you sick.”

“Hey!” Matt said.

“They smell fantastic,” Allura said. “And that’s always a good start.”

It was comforting, in its own way, to have everyone at the table. Despite everything, all the conflict and disaster they had all managed to find their way back to the Castleship intact. Lance smiled as even Coran seated himself to try the Space Pancakes, and chatter was lively and warm.

Allura wasn’t kidding about the pancakes, they smelled heavenly; or at least they did to Lance. Keith was frowning at the ones put in front of him as if he was unsure what to do with them, but before Lance could lean over and steal a bite to antagonize Keith, Matt leaned across the table and swiped the top pancake off of Keith’s stack. Lance snickered as Keith gaped at him. Illianya said “ _Holt,_ ” but there was no admonishment in her voice.

“Why do you call him that, but call Rian, Rian?” Pidge wondered aloud. “I mean, his _name’s_  Matthaniel.”

Matt was nodding along in agreement until the end of Pidge’s statement. “Wait, no-”

“Matthaniel?” Allura said, and Lance couldn’t contain his laughter anymore, wheezing akwardly and slapping the table with his hand.

“No it’s _not,”_ Keith said, glancing to Shiro for confirmation. “Is it, Shiro?”

Without batting an eyelash, Shiro said, “Of course it is, right, _Matthaniel?”_

“I hate everybody at this table,” Matt said as everyone laughed, and Hunk patted his arm reassuringly.

 

#

 

“Is your name _really_  Matthaniel?” Keith was asking Matt as they cleared the table. Shiro quirked a smile as he passed but didn’t interrupt, walking a step behind Allura and followed by Illianya as they returned to the bridge. Coran was already present, working away busily at his station, and he glanced up when the doors opened.

“Ah, Princess,” Coran said. “I’ve been monitoring the signal frequencies from the direction of our escape. It seems that they’ve dropped the jammer frequencies since the Yellow Lion escaped, but no pursuit so far.”

“Thank you, Coran,” Allura said, and folded her arms.

“What now?” Shiro asked, as Allura tilted her head, looking at the status readouts Coran kept open on the main screen when the ship was in flight. “The memory cores are a dead end, and while I’m certain some of the prisoners escaped I know not all of them could have bailed before the Galra caught right back up to them.”

“The totems are not _integral_  to the function of Voltron,” Allura said, although she sounded disappointed. “I was just hoping to give you an edge, and an added boost.” She glanced over to Illianya, who looked less fierce without her hair tied tightly back. “Will you and your crew continue to stay with us aboard the Castleship?” she asked, and Illianya nodded.

“We’re down one skitter anyway,” she said. “They’re not exactly two-man craft. Besides,” a soft expression Shiro recognized crossed her face quickly, and it was all he could do not to smile himself. “I feel we would be able to accomplish much good together, Princess. If you’ll have us,” she added on quickly, realizing her presumption, “it would be an honor to serve with the Breath of the Lions.”

Allura smiled broadly. “I am quite happy to have more Alteans about,” she said. “Your crew is always welcome here.” She glanced to Shiro, then, but did not speak, clearly waiting instead for him to volunteer the idea that must be evidently brewing on his face.

“They’re going to come after us,” Shiro said, finally. “That entire thing was a debacle, and it’s frankly a miracle that none of us were killed or capture. Several different Galra ships saw us engage without forming Voltron, they’d be foolish not to try and strike at our perceived weakness.” He glanced over to Coran. “They’re probably tracking us even now.”

“They can’t be tracking us,” Allura said. “We used a wormhole to leave the system.”

“They’re following us,” Shiro said, and felt a sudden shiver wick down his spine. He didn’t suppress the resulting shudder. “I don’t know how, but I would bet the Black Lion on it.”

“Even if they were,” Allura said, “we did do quite a lot of damage to their fleet. The sensor scans showed just about every cruiser in need of major repairs, and the frigate appeared to be falling into the gas planet.”

Shiro said nothing to that, jaw set as he looked to the viewscreen. “So, what,” Illianya said, cutting the tension that had risen. “We just keep running?”

“We can’t run forever,” Allura said. “If they _are_  tracking us, we have to put a stop to it.”

“So we stop,” Shiro said, “and let them come to us.” Both Allura and Illianya looked to him, and he continued. “We form Voltron, and we put an end to them tracking us.”

“Bait the trap and let the grifflespurt come to us,” Allura said softly, nodding her head.

“All right then,” Illianya said. “Even with only two skitters, we’re in.”

“No,” Allura said thoughtfully. “With Coran at the helm the Castleship is a formidable weapon in its own right, however with a larger crew manning its defenses…” Allura grinned wickedly. “I daresay that the Galra fleet that comes calling will be in for _quite_  a surprise.”

 

#

 

Hunk was seated in the common room, on the sunken couch and staring out into space. Lance stood right by him, hands on his hips and clearly waiting to be noticed. “He’s been like that for a while,” Pidge informed Lance, seated on the other couch cross-legged, her laptop open on her lap as she worked on a filtering program.

Lance leaned in _real_  close to Hunk, and then said loudly directly into his ear, “EARTH TO HUNK!”

Hunk let out a high-pitched little shriek and flailed his arms, smacking Lance away in the process as he promptly flopped over on his side and covered his face with both hands, beet red.

Pidge watched this from over the lip of her laptop’s screen. “That’s one way to do it.”

“LANCE,” Hunk yelled, without emerging from behind his hands.

“You okay there, bud?” Lance said. “Need anything? Coffee? A hot Altean girlfriend? A margarita?”

“I want a margarita,” Pidge said thoughtfully, and Lance squinted at her.

“Aren’t you like fourteen?”

“Go _away_ ,” Hunk moaned.

Lance took this request into account, considered it for a moment, and then sat himself down on the couch beside Hunk, if Hunk weren’t slumped all the way over to the other side. “If you need girl advice, you know you can hit me up anytime,” he said, grinning rakishly and more for Pidge’s benefit as Hunk wasn’t moving his hands. Pidge rolled her eyes.

“I don’t _need_  girl advice,” Hunk muttered, but finally shifted, pushing himself back up into a seated position. His face was still flushed a deep red, and he refused to look directly at Lance. Lance chuckled and Hunk groaned. “I _don’t._ ”

“You’re sweet on Illianya, it’s okay,” Lance said, and patted Hunk’s arm. “She’s fine as hell.”

“It’s not that at _all_ ,” Hunk said, and now irritation was beginning to creep into his voice. “The only reason she kissed me was because…” he trailed off and looked away, and his blush didn’t fade.

“Yeah, we only came in during the kiss,” Pidge said. “Why _did_  she kiss you?”

“I think Yellow took over,” Hunk said. “I don’t know how we got back to the Castleship.”

“ _What?”_  Lance sat straight up now. “Like … what do you _mean_ , ‘took over’?”

“I don’t _know_ ,” Hunk said, and folded his arms, tucking his chin down and staring at his knees. “We were still on the moon, at the Temple of Empedocles, and then, suddenly, Illianya was kissing me and we were out of the system.”

“Just… cutting in and out, just like that?” Pidge said, alarmed. “Straight up time-loss?”

“Yeah,” Hunk said. “Yeah, I don’t know what happened. It was really freaky.” He shuddered again, arms folded tight, and Lance looked to Pidge. “So, to answer your question _Lance_ , she didn’t kiss me because she likes me.”

“Uh,” Lance held up a finger, while Pidge typed furiously at her laptop. “ _First_  of all, Hunk ol’ buddy ol’ pal, she _absolutely_  likes you. She wouldn’t have kissed you if she wasn’t into you.”

“Lance-”

“No, hear me out,” he said. “I’m sure there were other ways to, IDK, knock you back into you, or Yellow out of you, or whatever-”

Pidge didn’t glance up. “Did you just _say_  ‘IDK’?”

“A N Y W A Y,” Lance enunciated the word loudly, over Pidge, “she totally digs you, man. Go forth and get some long-overdue action.”

“LANCE,” Hunk moaned, embarrassed.

Pidge was concentrating so intently on her laptop that Lance finally looked back over. “What are you _doing_  over there?”

“Trying to see if I can pick out when the Quintessence spike happened,” she said, still focused. “It registered on Green’s sensors overnight, before Hunk and Illianya got back.”

“Quintessence spike?”

“Yeah,” Pidge didn’t offer any additional explanation, but both Lance and Hunk stared at her until she sighed and looked up. “Do you _mind?”_  she said. “I’m trying to concentrate.”

“Yeah, we’re gonna stare at you until you explain that.”

Pidge let out a groan. “Because of the location of our Lion’s launch bays, I outfitted Green with some extra sensory arrays to pick up stray - Lance do _not_  make that joke, I swear to god - signals that might occur in deep space. It recorded a spike of background Quintessence radiation while I was in the cryo replenisher, and another overnight, but I hadn’t really looked at them yet.”

“ESA,” Lance whispered, delighted, when she paused. Pidge shot him a dirty look.

“Well,” Hunk said. “I would bet that the second Quintessence spike was Yellow, because when we went back to the temple we were following the glowy Quintessence lines and hoping to get a boost or something so we could make it to the edge of the star system before one of the cruisers caught up to us with its tractor beams.”

“Glowy lines?” Lance said. “We’re just going to ignore that he said that?”

“This was a short-range burst, in system _here_ ,” Pidge said, tapping the top lip of her laptop screen as she stared down at the information that only she could see. Suddenly, she paused. “Hunk, did you guys use a wormhole to get here?”

“I don’t know?” Hunk shrugged helplessly.

“That’s not possible, Allura has to use the teludav to open wormholes,” Lance said

“Yeah, but Blue opened a wormhole before we’d even _met_  Allura,” Pidge said, and Lance’s brow furrowed as he realized that Pidge was right. “Blue was probably using up the last of her previous Paladin’s stored Quintessence.”

“Wait,” Hunk said. “The Lions can store Quintessence?”

“And I thought only Alteans could open wormholes,” Lance added.

“It’s just a _guess_ ,” Pidge said, aggravated. “I don’t know either, I’m just throwing noodles at the wall, here.” She sat back. “That doesn’t explain _why_  Yellow took the driver’s seat when she could just, I don’t know, move herself instead of taking over her Paladin.”

“I don’t know about you but maybe we should be talking to Allura and Coran about this?” Lance said. “They know the Lions better than anybody on board.”

“And even _they_  don’t know everything,” Hunk responded. “Neither of them has been a Paladin. We’re in uncharted territory here, Lance!”

“We still need to tell everybody,” Lance said. “And figure this out. Because, no offense to Yellow but I prefer my best friend to remain, uh, un-lion-ated.”

“Tomorrow,” Pidge said. “I’m going to run some of this information through the network I had set up with the memory core and see if I can pull anything useful out of the zetabytes of raw information.” She groaned. “I also have that massive infodump from when I was cloning the cruiser’s core memory.”

“Wait,” Lance said. “You have _what_  now?”

“That reminds me,” Pidge said, and after fiddling a moment popped a small drive with the familiar Altean teal glow at its edge. She held it out. “Give this to Keith.”

“Why am _I_  your courier?” Lance said. “What is it?”

“If Keith wants to show you he can, otherwise it’s his eyes only,” Pidge said, and Lance held up the drive, squinting at  it, as if he could read the data contained with in with his bare eyeballs. “Anyway, I need to work on this as much as possible so I can get to the prisoner logs. I only have so many processors, I don’t think Coran would appreciate it if I hijacked the ship’s core memory for this, no matter _how_  important it is.”

Lance and Hunk looked at each, and then Lance patted Hunk’s back. “Go talk to her, bud,” he said. “I bet you anything she really is into you.” He paused in patting Hunk’s back. “You are into _her_ , right?”

Hunk gave Lance a wicked side-eye and Lance laughed and resumed patting his back. “Just a word of advice. Check that you’ve locked the door.”

“Oh my _god_ ,” Hunk groaned, and buried his face in his hands.

 

#

 

Keith was so distracted exiting the showers he almost walked straight into Lance. “Hey, _dude_ ,” Lance said, affronted, and Keith stopped dead in his tracks, a towel draped  open over his damp head and wearing only his boxers.

“Oh, sorry Lance,” he said, and put his hands on the edges of the towel, as if anticipating Lance grabbing at it. There was a moment of strange, strained silence between them as Lance stared at him, then the stare softened at its edges as if to put Keith at ease. It didn’t feel right to relax, though, his shoulders bunched tight still. “You can sleep with Shiro tonight, I’m not in the mood.”

Lance frowned. “Man, I do _not_  have to schedule my happy fun times with my boyfriend through you,” he said, and then backtracked very quickly with a pained expression. “Our boyfriend. _Our_ boyfriend.”

Keith didn’t flinch at that, maybe he was just too tired and was numb now. “That’s not what I meant,” he said, the irritation too weak to be effective. “I just literally meant _sleep_ , Lance.”

Lance blinked slowly. “Where will you sleep?” he said, and Keith shrugged.

“My bed,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and tugged on his towel which provided enough of a buffer that he didn’t have to look Lance in the eyes.

Lance blew out a breath and fished in his pocket for a moment, coming up with a small Altean thumb drive. “Pidge told me to give you this,” he said, and that distracted Keith, making him raise his head and look at the proffered drive. “What’s on it?”

This puzzled Keith. “I don’t know…?” he said, confused. “Did she say what was on it?”

“Nope,” Lance said. “Said it was ‘for Keith’s eyes only.’” He waggled the drive. “It must be something _good_  if she won’t tell me what it is. Why don’t you go put on a shirt or something and we can have ourselves a little sleepover and see what sort of kinky porn Pidge dug up for you.”

“I didn’t ask Pidge for _porn_ ,” Keith said.

“You are _far_  too literal sometimes,” Lance grabbed Keith by the shoulder and began practically dragging him down the hall. “Come on, I’m dying to see what’s on this thing and I’m not gonna look at it without you.” He looked over at Keith and grinned, and then squeezed his shoulder.

From somewhere Keith mustered his own smile, and was surprised, then relieved, to find it genuine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day y'all, here's a much overdue chapter and here's the boys with some apology chocolate.
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me, hopefully won't be quite as long 'till the next chapter!


	98. Chapter 98

Lance’s room had acquired the most stuff over the course of their adventures; which included an additional display console that was not, thankfully, holographic. Not that Keith really had a problem with the holographic displays in the Castleship, but it sometimes made things simpler to be looking at them on an actual screen. He still hadn’t gotten dressed though, and made movements like he was going to retreat to his room to fetch some clean clothes when Lance rolled his eyes dramatically at Keith and pulled open the wall panel that hid their clothing. “You took over my room, remember?” Lance said, pulling out some of Keith’s stashed clothing. “At least I’ve made sure everything in here is _clean._ ”

“The Castleship automatically cleans all the clothing,” Keith said, amused, as Lance shoved the balled-up clothing into Keith’s chest. Lance stuck out his tongue at Keith and then set to inspecting Pidge’s thumb drive, checking to make sure it was compatible with Lance’s console. Keith pulled his shirt on over his head and felt so much relief it was staggering. Lance was being _normal,_  and that things seemed more normal than they had been in a week and a half.

He sat down on the floor in front of the console as Lance finally got the drive connected and pulled a keyboard out of somewhere. Keith stared at it, and Lance looked down at the keyboard and then over to Keith before shrugging. “Pidge,” he said, as if that were the answer to every single bit of technology-driven strangeness on the ship and not a huge can of worms in and of itself. Keith shook his head, as Lance opened the file drive and pulled up the data files.

Immediately, the screen filed with text, all violet and magenta-hued. Lance blinked, and made a noise of disappointment. “I can’t read Galra writing,” he said. Keith’s heart had frozen in his throat, the happiness of _normalcy_  already long gone. He hadn’t sat down to talk with Pidge yet - he hadn’t had a chance, so much happened so fast, everyone else knew but he’d forgotten they were already _gone_  when his secret was dragged out of him. “Boring,” Lance announced, and started scrolling faster than Keith could even begin to read the page.

Several images flashed past quickly, embedded into the data, before the file seemed to hitch and then shot all the way down the page, automatically pulling up a recording that made Keith’s blood run cold. It was a monitored recording, the sort taken by a camera set up in a lab, and as such the quality of the image was slightly lower due to the cheapness of the technology. Lance was frowning at the screen, leaning forward to try to make out the display, but Keith didn’t need to, the terror clinched tight in his gut and the memories he’d long fought to repress threatening to overwhelm him.

“Turn it off,” Keith said suddenly, his arms shaking as they wrapped around himself, unable to tear his eyes from the screen. Lance looked over to him, as if _now_  suddenly aware of Keith’s altered demeanor, his expression baffled at the sudden change in the mood of the room.

Abruptly, the recording buzzed to life with activity as a high-pitched yell filtered through the speakers. It was static-filled and much younger than even Keith remembered but still recognizable. Keith could still remember the shape of the words. _“Let me go, let me go, no-”_

Lance whirled on the console, jaw gone slack as some Druids entered the frame. “Turn it _off_ ,” Keith’s voice hitched and overlaid his own young voice as a tiny, struggling form was revealed between two guards. “Lance, please turn it off, _turn it off-”_

“Unsuitable,” one of the guards said in a thick voice, full of scorn; but a Druid held up what looked like a syringe. Lance’s entire expression had frozen over but Keith wasn’t looking at him any more, his arms over his head and clamped tight over his ears, trying to drown out something he never thought he would hear again.

With his eyes closed tight he didn’t see Lance stagger to his feet and lunge, yanking the drive out of the console without ejecting it, he didn’t hear the high-pitched whine of disrupted playback or even hear Lance’s boot slam on the delicate electronics. He jerked physically when he felt Lance’s arms around him and nearly headbutted him but Lance didn’t let him go, pulled him tight and wrapped his own arms around Keith’s head himself, holding him close. “It’s all right, buddy,” Lance’s voice was quiet in a way he’d never heard before, but soothing still as Keith pressed his face against Lance’s shoulder and shook, choking, against him. “You’re safe now. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

 

#

 

Keith lay curled up on his side in Lance’s bed, the sheet wrapped securely around him. Lance sat on the edge of the mattress and watched Keith quietly; he hadn’t moved in a while and his breathing had finally evened out. Lance had never actually seen Keith _cry_  before, to look so helpless and vulnerable and he was shaken to his very core.

A core that was now a tightly-packed ball of incandescent _rage._  Keith was strong, and he was good, and he didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve _any_  of this, and he’d come from such a terrible place and was able to keep it all packed away and even shouldered so much _more_  without complaint. Lance was almost shaking. He wanted to find every single _creature_  in that video and make certain that they couldn’t harm another sentient being in this universe, or any other one, ever again. Why had Pidge given _that_  to Keith? And expected him to watch it by himself, holy _shit…_

Wait, _Pidge._

Lance looked down at Keith again, and then tentatively brushed his hand through Keith’s hair, pushing it back slightly. He looked absolutely human like this, not a hint of anything alien about him … unless you counted his taste in hairstyle. Lance smiled at that thought, even if it was watery, and then leaned down and kissed Keith’s temple. Then he picked up the smashed drive from the floor and went to find Shiro.

 

#

 

Lance’s immediate impulse to smash the drive had actually only damaged its outer casing, once stripped of the damaged parts Shiro was still able to plug the drive into the console he’d set up in his own room. He watched the entire thing. Lance couldn’t stomach the thought of seeing any of it and stood outside the door to Shiro’s room, his back to the door and arms crossed, feeling sicker than he’d ever been. It was against every single instinct he had to stand there, but he waited for Shiro because he didn’t feel he could trust himself.

The sound of playback, muted enough that he could only distinguish noise from silence and not much else, ceased. It was a very long stretch of silence that followed, long enough that Lance was considering opening the door before there was a sudden loud and violent crash. Not ten seconds later the doors to Shiro’s room opened and Lance’s blood went to ice. Shiro looked absolutely fit to kill. “Where is he?” he asked, and Lance had a split-second of worry. Shiro sensed the way he reacted to Shiro’s question and he sighed, but that didn’t entirely take the edge off. “Is he okay, Lance? Is he safe?”

“I can’t answer the first one,” Lance said. “But he’s safe, at least.”

Shiro surprised him then by enveloping Lance in a tight hug. Lance didn’t realize how badly he’d needed it until Shiro’s arms were around him, and he pressed his forehead into Shiro’s shoulder and took deep, steadying breaths. “What do we do?” he asked quietly.

“That’s up to Keith,” Shiro said, and Lance raised his head.

“Like _hell_  it is,” he said. “I’m going to turn those fuckers into ionized carbon and launch anything left over into a fucking _star._ ”

“You’re assuming I would leave anything behind,” Shiro murmured, but his arms remained tight around Lance. “But it’s up to Keith. Not us. Remember that.”

“If you guys wanted to swing by Earth and turn those alphas inside-out I wouldn’t peep a word of protest,” Lance grumbled, and Shiro rubbed his back.

“You said Pidge gave you the files?”

“Yeah. What the _fuck_.” Lance lifted his head again. “Why would she do that?”

“We’ll talk to her,” Shiro said, and Lance nodded.

 

#

 

Pidge was in the Green Lion’s hangar bay, sitting at the mass of consoles and computers she had wired together that Lance had affectionately nicknamed the bat-computer. Matt was sitting on the ground by her chair, the outer casing of a computer sitting empty behind him and its innards strewn about. “Hey guys,” he said cheerfully when he saw Shiro and Lance enter the bay. “Uh,” he added, when he sensed the mood. “Everything okay?”

“Pidge, what the _fuck_ ,” Lance wasn’t able to contain himself.

She half-turned and looked at him, baffled. Then her gazed sharpened. “I told you to give that to _Keith_ ,” she said, and Lance’s entire frame went rigid with the implication. Shiro put his hand on Lance’s shoulder firmly, and then looked to Pidge with a severe expression.

“Did you know what was in those videos?” he asked, his voice forced very level.

Pidge’s expression had shifted from Lance’s strange reaction back to Shiro and she realized suddenly that something was very wrong. “No,” she said. “I didn’t even realize there was embedded video. I just grabbed an entire sector packet about a Galra breeding experiment, there were pictures that looked like…” she glanced sidelong at Matt for a moment before she continued, “that looked like Keith was in them, so I packaged the entire file cluster for him. I haven’t had time to actually go through any of the raw data yet, things keep coming up.” There was a hard edge to her voice, with the next statement. “He is Galra though, isn’t it?”

“He’s _Keith_ ,” Lance spat, and Shiro didn’t remove his hand from Lance’s shoulder but he also didn’t stop him from speaking. “He’s our _friend_ , Pidge!”

“I know,” Pidge said and finally spun her chair all the way around. “I _know_  he is.” She folded her arms and glared at them. “What was in the videos?” Notably, she did not move to pull them up herself. Matt stood up from where he was seated, his own face concerned.

Shiro’s jaw moved around but he did not speak, and Lance said, finally, “they tortured him, Pidge. He was a kid, and they…” Shiro’s hand again, tightened, and Lance fell silent because Pidge’s face had fallen even further. She pushed her glasses up off her eyes and into her hair, before she pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes for a long moment.

“ _Shit_ ,” Pidge said softly. Then, after a moment she spun in her seat and changed the console she was working on. “My first instinct is to destroy the files,” she said, anger tinged in her voice, “but that’s a stupid idea because there might be information in them that we need. But I can at least lock their archiving so no one accesses them accidentally.” She slammed her had down on the keyboard in front of her suddenly, and leaned forward. “God _dammit._ ”

“Pidge,” Matt said, and slung his arm over his sister’s shoulders.

“Can you tell Keith I’m sorry?” Pidge asked. “I’m sure he doesn’t want to see me, and I don’t blame him. I _am_  sorry,”  she added, looking to Lance. “I really didn’t know, I didn’t … okay, no,” she self-corrected. “I was mad that he was concealing this from us and maybe wanted to give him a little ‘gotcha’ but I really didn’t know what was in most of the data. I didn’t think he’d go deeper than the pictures.”

“It would mean more coming from you directly,” Shiro said. “But we’ll tell him.”

“Thanks,” she said, quietly.

When Lance and Shiro left, Pidge pulled up the file that she had just locked. Matt kept his arm over her shoulder, and when she leaned into him he let her cry for a little while, rubbing her back. “You didn’t know,” he said softly, and Pidge lifted her head, smearing her wet eyes on his clothing.

“It’s no excuse,” she muttered, and this time scrubbed her hand over her eyes and wiped her nose with her sleeve.

leaned over and hugged Matt tight. Her brother wrapped his arms around her and let her cry for a little while, rubbing her back. “You didn’t mean to,” he said softly, and Pidge nodded, smearing her wet eyes across his clothing. She let out a quiet sob, and then this time scrubbed her hand over her eyes and put them back on her nose, returning her attention to the console.

“I’m going to see what information I can pulls from these files,” she said, her voice still uneven but forceful. “If I slingshot the data to your terminal, do you think you can map it to a star chart, or at least glean the location data?”

Matt said, “you don’t have to do that right now, Pidge.”

“Yeah,” Pidge said. “I do.”

“Okay,” Matt said, pausing for a moment. “Okay. Yeah, I can see what I can do with the info you pull.”

With that, the siblings got to work.

 

#

 

“I’m going to go talk to Allura,” Shiro had said, standing outside of Lance’s room. His arm had remained over Lance’s shoulder the entire way back to the pilot’s quarters, and it was a small comfort. Lance suspected it was as much for Shiro’s benefit as it was his. Lance had nodded quietly, and accepted the kiss from Shiro without complaint. They both should be there if Keith woke, he felt, but … there were other things afoot, even now.

Keith hadn’t stirred, his back presented to the room and still curled into a tight ball. Lance sat at the edge of the mattress for a while, far too keyed up to consider sleeping but at a loss for what to do next. So he sat silent and waited for Shiro to return.

His nature had _always_ been to react instead of act - let something happen, and he’d deal with it or its fallout in due time. That was changing, Lance realized, and it was something that had started with the introduction of the Blue Lion into his life. Lance stared at his hands and thought again of how he would Handle This if Keith deigned to let him, and his mouth quirked a little with savagery of it. He was enjoying a rather visceral plan when he felt the mattress shift and Keith rolled over, pulling him from his thoughts like an anchor. “Lance?”

“I’m here,” Lance said immediately, turning slightly. Keith shifted again and sat up, staring listlessly ahead. Then he rubbed both of his hands fully over his face and let out a low noise which was almost a growl, but when his face emerged from behind his hands he looked so much more like _Keith_  again.

“Who have you told?” Keith asked without looking at Lance.

“Shiro,” Lance said. “Pidge… kind of. She doesn’t know exactly, but … she is sorry. Said she hadn’t watched the videos, only saw some of the data files and some pictures and was hurt you hadn’t told her yet.” He trailed off and immediately felt bad for making the excuse for Pidge, but Keith tilted his head forward and sighed raggedly.

“I’m sorry, Lance,” Keith said. “You shouldn’t have had to deal with that.”

“You’re…” Lance’s mouth actually fell open, because he couldn’t quite process that. “Excuse me, _you_  are sorry? Why the fuck are _you_  sorry? Fucking hell, Keith…”

Keith said again, his voice almost too calm, “you shouldn’t have had to see that.” He started to move, like he was going to get up, but Lance threw an arm out and blocked the way off the bed.

“Keith,” Lance said, his voice hard. “That was _not_  your fault. I’m going to find whoever the fuck was on that video and _kill_  them, do you understand? That isn’t an exaggeration, I can put a bolt of plasma between their eyes at a thousand meters, and I _will-_ ”

“Lance,” Keith said, and he had a strained smile on his face. “You don’t have to do that.”

“The fuck I don’t,” Lance said. “I _will_.”

“No, I mean you really don’t _have_  to,” Keith rubbed his knee with one hand and stared at the top sheet, instead of looking at Lance. “They’re all dead.” He dragged his gaze up to Lance’s and for a brief moment Lance was _scared_  of what he saw there, reminded terribly of the bloodthirsty expression he had seen on Keith’s face in the arena as he headed for Rian with murder on his mind. “Didn’t you wonder why I was on Earth, and had been?” Keith didn’t wait for Lance to ask the inevitable question. “I escaped. I made sure I wasn’t followed.” Keith shrugged his shoulders without moving his arms. “The end.”

Lance stared at him, still stunned into silence. Keith looked away. “I never wanted any of you to find out how much of a monster I am,” he said, his voice still quiet. “I’m sorry.”

“Keith,” Lance said. “If you’re a monster for _that_ , then so am I. Same with Shiro.” Keith turned and looked at him, and Lance was deadly serious, more serious than he had ever felt. “I absolutely wasn’t kidding about blowing their heads off, if Shiro hadn’t beaten me to it. You are our _mate_.” He shifted more on the mattress and reached for Keith’s hand. Keith didn’t jerk away, and let Lance hold his hand with both of his. “You’re the Red Paladin, man. You are _badass_. You’re a good guy, no matter what you think your past says otherwise. We love you and we’re both here for you.”

Keith raised his eyes to Lance, but before he could open his mouth the doors to Lance’s room opened to show Shiro. The hard expression on his face softened when he saw Keith sitting up, and he crossed the room quickly, putting his knee on the bed beside Lance and nearly smothering Keith with his arms. Lance went to let go of Keith’s hand, but Keith didn’t let go of his, and put his other arm around Shiro’s neck, face buried in Shiro’s chest. “We’re going to find-” Shiro started, but Lance shook his head and Shiro caught the movement out of the corner of his eye.

“No point,” Lance said. “They’re already dead.”

“Well,” Shiro said, “Fuck _that_ , who do I get to kill?”

“See?” Lance said, squeezing Keith’s hand. Face buried against Shiro’s chest, Keith actually laughed.

 

#

 

Keith looked like himself in the morning. He beat Lance out of bed, but not Shiro, and when Lance stopped by the training deck he saw the pair of them running laps. “It is _way_  too early for that shit,” Lance said, and bypassed their insane work-out routine for breakfast.

Hunk was _super_  cheerful, and Lance gave him a suspicious glare, although Illianya was nowhere to be seen. “Why is Hunk so happy?” Lance asked Pidge, who jumped at being addressed directly and gave Lance a guilty look. “Did he get laid? Do I have to drag him in front of everybody?”

“Can’t you let Hunk do his own thing in private?” Pidge asked, and Lance shrugged.

“He dragged the shit out of me when I first got laid.”

“Well, maybe that wouldn’t happen if you remembered to, I don’t know, lock your door once in a while,” Pidge muttered.

“Hey, Miss ‘I’m-unlocking-this-door-whether-you-want-me-to-or-not,” Lance said, indignant, and Pidge put up one finger.

“Once. _Once,_ I did that, and boy howdy I have _learned my lesson_ , okay?”

“Hey, Pidge,” Keith called as he entered the dining area. “Can we talk for a second?”

Lance had never actually seen Pidge turn that particular shade of pale before, but she nodded her head and made to stand up. However, before she could rise out of her chair Keith slid into the chair beside hers, across the table from Lance. He smiled at Lance though, and … well, he still wasn’t entirely used to Keith actually smiling like that but Lance felt relieved that Keith seemed to fell like _Keith_  again.

“Keith,” Pidge said, standing. “I am really sorry-”

Keith interrupted Pidge before she could really get going. “It’s okay,” he said, glancing over a moment when the chair on the other side of him was pulled out, but that was just Shiro sitting down. Lance put his chin in his hand and grinned at Shiro, who gave him a Look in return to dial it down for a minute, earning a pout.

“it’s not okay,” Pidge said. “I did it to hurt you, even if I didn’t realize the extent of what was there, and it’s _not-_ ” her voice broke for a second, but she caught herself. “It’s not okay,” she said again, reining her voice in.

Keith had an expression on his face like he didn’t know what to do, and looked over to Lance helplessly. Lance gestured his arms at Keith wordlessly, a universal sign for _‘hug her you idiot’_  but Keith clearly didn’t get the message. Fortunately for them both Pidge straight-up decided to hug Keith instead. “I know you didn’t mean to _actually_  hurt me,” Keith said, patting her back awkwardly because despite everything he still wasn’t quite tuned to body language.

This was the moment that Hunk bustled into the room and paused at Pidge hugging Keith. He was followed by Allura and Illianya, who had clearly been having a morning meeting of some kind. “Uh,” Hunk said at the display. “So what did I miss?”

Allura glance at Keith, who nodded as Pidge got up from her awkward hug and shuffled back to her seat. All the Alteans had filed in together, and Rian grabbed the seat beside Matt while Coran chose to remain standing as he often did. Keith stood up from his chair after a moment, and that drew attention to him again as well.

“So, I have something I need to tell everyone,” Keith said, finally. “I’ve been keeping a lot of secrets and you all know that by now, but…” he looked across the table and met Lance’s eye and Lance nodded his head. They’d talked about this last night, and it was Keith’s idea to tell tell everyone. His pause lingered though, and then Shiro leaned forward and took his hand, squeezing it. Keith glanced at Shiro and smiled. “But I think it’s time everyone knew the whole story.”

 

#

 

“I think it went well,” Lance said, seated on the bench at the end of the training deck. Keith was busy doing hanging crunches, the show-off, his legs hooked over a bar as he hung upside down. Keith didn’t actually _answer_  him, and Lance really didn’t expect him to huffing and puffing, but he knew that Keith appreciated the company. Shiro was sparring with Hunk on the mat, and Illianya was supervising them both, wearing a bodysuit not unlike the ones they wore under their Paladin armor. Occasionally, it appeared that she stepped in and showed both Hunk and Shiro a move.

Rian crossed the room toward them, and Lance groaned. “Our favorite Altean is heading this way, buddy.”

Altean ears were sensitive, and Rian was already scowling by the time he got close. He said something that Lance didn’t quite understand, and Keith stopped doing crunches and _snorted_. “What the heck was that?” Lance said, but Rian didn’t respond to him and Keith dropped from the bar and straightened, sweat dripping from his hair. “Why did _you_  laugh?” he asked Keith suspiciously.

Keith regarded Rian silently, fetching his towel of the bench. Rian folded his arms and frowned and seemed to be bracing himself to say something. Finally, he sighed. “I don’t like you,” he said finally.

“Feeling’s mutual,” Keith said, and this time _Lance_  snorted.

“I sense a ‘but’,” Lance said, and Rian shot him a dirty look.

“My mother escaped from one of the Galra research ships,” Rian said finally. “Before I was born. I think it was probably the same one.” He looked away. “Thank you for killing them,” he said softly. “I’ve been trying to track them down for years to do it myself.”

“I’m sorry about your mother,” Keith said.

“She lived,” Rian clarified. “For a while, at least. Couldn’t stand the sight of her purple child, just like her.” He smiled bitterly. “That was why she killed herself, or so I was told.” He kept his arms folded, fingers digging into his skin. “She didn’t live long enough to see that her child also inherited the long-lost Altean shape-shifting abilities.”

“Well that explains why you’re not purple,” Lance said, and then looked at Keith. “Wait, do you have Altean blood, _too?_ Is _that_  why you can shapeshift between furry and not?”

“I don’t know,” Keith said. “And I really don’t even care at this point.” He looked over to Rian, who still looked irritated that he had even shared any of this with someone he allegedly didn’t like. Then Keith held out his hand. “Truce?” he said, and Rian looked at his hand for a long moment, then took it.

“We’re on the same side now,” Rian said. “I guess.”

“Good enough for me,” Keith said, and rolled his eyes before he looked back over to Lance. “Why do _you_  look like that?”

Lance’s eyes had gotten large and glittering. “I’m just so glad to see everyone getting along,” Lance said, mock choked-up, his hand on his chest.

Keith smacked Lance in the back of the head, who said a very loud and injured, “ow!” He rubbed the back of his head and muttered something under his breath while Rian folded his arms and shook his head.

“I still can’t believe that you’re with someone who gutted you like a fish,” Rian said, his tone derisive, and Lance shrugged.

“He’s my mate,” he said. “I would bare my throat to him if he asked to rip it out with his teeth.” Both Keith and Rian stared at him, and Lance hesitated. “…what?”

“I think that’s legitimately the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me,” Keith said, a little awed.

“Okay, that’s a problem,” Lance said. “We need to fix that.” He waved to Shiro. “Hey, Shiro! What’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever said to you?”

“Nothing that I’m going to repeat in polite company,” Shiro yelled back from across the training deck.

“God _dammit_ ,” Lance said, and folded his arms. “I’m disappointed. I need to step up my wooing game.” He looked up when Keith placed his hand on Lance’s head and leaned down, in close, rubbing his sweaty head against Lance’s.

“You’ve already won me over,” Keith said, and Lance pushed him away, affronted.

“Oh, _gross_ , you’re so sweaty,” Lance yelped.

Rian shook his head and started to walk away. “Disgusting,” he said, as Keith grabbed Lance in a headlock and continued to rub his sweaty face all over Lance.


	99. Chapter 99

“So,” Hunk said, his face coming up on the screen to Lance’s left. “Who wants to say it? I don’t want to be the one who says it, I _always_  say it and then you all make fun of me.”

“Hunk,” Shiro said firmly through the comm. Lance smirked a little, because it was the slightly-exasperated tone of voice that he knew all too well and for once it wasn’t directed at him. “No one needs to say anything.”

“Really? Because I’m _really_  feeling it.”

“Hunk, buddy,” Lance said. “It’s fine. Things are cool.” He leaned forward in his chair, hands resting on the controls of the Blue Lion, and things felt … normal. _So_  normal … well, as normal as things could be when you were flying a giant, frighteningly sentient ancient alien weapon through relatively uncharted waters in the hopes of luring out the Galra cruiser that had jumped into system six hours ago and had yet to engage. It was refreshing to be back in action, just him and Blue - okay, and everyone else, too.

“Still no transmissions from the cruiser?” Shiro asked, and Allura’s voice came through the comm.

“Nothing. They’re sitting just beyond the planetisimal cloud.” Allura sounded just barely worried. They had lain in wait for two days, not moving from the system of their initial wormhole jump based on Shiro’s gut feeling that they were being followed. It did seem strange that the Galra hadn’t pursued them immediately, but they _had_  wormholed out of the system, and apparently caused a great deal of damage to the cruisers, and the frigate’s core engine block. “I can barely get a reading on the ship at all.”

“And this isn’t worrying anyone else?” Hunk said. “Because I’ve got a _bad_  feeling, man…”

Pidge, Lance and Matt managed to make a chorus of groans that liberally drowned out the rest of whatever Hunk was saying. “Don’t _say_  that,” Matt’s voice was slightly broken up, coming from the Castleship, while Pidge said at the same time; “Hunk, if you fucking _jinxed_  us…”

Shiro let the banter go on for a few moments longer, clearly working something out or just speaking on a private comm channel to Keith, who had been uncharacteristically silent. Not that he dug into Hunk as much as Lance and Pidge did, but he usually offered some input, even if it was just a grunt of disgust. Lance flipped over his system to Blue’s private comm channel and drew up alongside the Red Lion, who he was flying in loose formation with anyway. “You okay, bud? You’re awfully quiet.”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Keith said. His reply was curt and to the point, which wasn’t entirely out of line for him when they were flying into a potential threat. After a moment though, there was a sigh through the open line and Keith’s voice sounded more open. “Thanks for checking on me, Lance.”

“No problemo, my man,” Lance flipped back to the main comm line in time to hear Shiro say, with intense exasperation, _“Matt._ ”

“What?” Matt sounded like he was playing intentionally innocent.

Dammit, sounded like he missed something potentially hilarious. Lance made a mental note to ask Matt later what he had said, as Coran spoke up. “It appears that the Galra cruiser has warped out of system.”

There was a brief moment of stunned, surprised silence, and then Hunk said with total and legitimate enthusiasm, _“yay!”_

“Okay…” Keith said. “That’s really weird. Why would they hang out at the edge of the system, not engage, and then bolt?”

“They probably got a read on their sensors for all five Lions,” Pidge said. “Maybe they left some snooping satellites or something, we should _totally_  make a pass through the planetisimals just to be on the safe side.” Pidge sounded far too enthused about flying through what amounted to a larger, slower asteroid field so she definitely had some form of ulterior motive. Lance wasn’t going to lose sleep over what that could be, though, because there was honestly no telling.

“I’ll go with Pidge,” Keith said. “Our Lions are the fastest, we can do a quick pass and scan for anomalies and see if the Galra cruiser left us any presents behind.”

Shiro radioed his assent, and Lance watched as the Red and Green Lions, the arms of Voltron, shot across space and were nothing but mere dots on his screen in a heartbeat. The Lions could move _stunningly_  fast, and they would be to the edge of the star system in minutes. Lance glanced at his sensors and realized that Hunk was already flying back toward the Castleship. “And where are _you_  going?”

“Uh…” Hunk didn’t bother popping on visual this time. “Well, if the cruiser’s gone there’s no need to form Voltron, right? No need for all of us to just, um, hang around and burn fuel.”

“Yeah, uh-huh,” Lance said, leaning forward in his seat and grinning. The Yellow Lion hung in space unmoving, waiting for pronouncement at being caught shirking. “And I bet this has absolutely _nothing_  to do with your hot Altean girlfriend waiting for you, right?”

“Lance!” Hunk’s voice gained an octave. “She is _not_  my _girlfriend!_ ”

“Oh, I’m not?” Illianya’s voice came through the comm, sounding amused, and Lance saw the Yellow Lion roll completely over, as if dead. They were still on the public comm channel, Lance hadn’t bothered to switch over to private. Oh well, if his buddy wanted to air his private laundry all over the open channels, who was he to stop him, after all?

“Can we not use the public channel for this?” Keith asked, and Pidge snickered. Shiro just sighed.

“It’s okay,” Lance said. “I think Hunk has died of embarrassment anyway.” He flew Blue around Yellow once, in a loop. Yellow was still belly-up, although that was relative, in space.

“Enough,” Shiro said, and Lance obediently resumed formation with the Black Lion. After a minute or so to recover, Hunk joined them. “Pidge, Keith,” Shiro said. “See anything?”

“Just … planetisimals,” Pidge said, sounding disappointed for some reason. “No calling cards. Do youreally think that they popped into system, saw all of the Lions, and noped out? I can’t tell if that’s awesome or disappointing.”

“I think it’s awesome,” Hunk said. “Let’s let our reputation do more of the heavy lifting. Save our backs. Voltron’s back. Whatever.”

“I don’t trust it,” Allura mused.

“Think it’s a trap?” Shiro said. “We could always follow the exit vector.”

“That is _definitely_  a trap,” Keith said, and Lance agreed although he was quite sure that they could handle anything the Galra decided to throw at them … together, at least. Keith sounded profoundly disappointed in Shiro, though. “They’re probably waiting one system over with particle canons and tractor beams to disable us and capture Voltron.”

“That seems a bit on the nose, don’t you think?” Lance said.

“The Galra don’t have to _do_  clever, they just flatten down any resistance with the full force of their army’s resources,” Matt said. “They’ve been ruling for literally thousands of years with minimal resistance, if brute force doesn’t solve the issue some of those cruiser commanders are out of their depths.”

“Hm,” Shiro said, clearly considering it. “Princess?”

“No,” Allura said. “I don’t feel the need to risk Voltron for just one measly Galra cruiser. Everyone, return to the ship. We’ll wormhole from here - if they tracked us this far, we’ll see if they track us any farther.”

“Copy that,” Lance said, twitching Blue back around toward the Castleship. He heard the others acknowledge as well; and, not surprisingly, the Yellow Lion beat them all back to the ship despite having the slowest overall speed. Lance made another mental note, this time to definitely give Hunk a hard time about _that_ , as he brought Blue home.

 

#

 

They wormholed four times before Coran put a stop to it, citing both wear and tear on the teludav and, more importantly, on Allura. “We’re halfway across the galaxy from Eaphus,” Coran said busily, his hands on Allura’s shoulders to steer her off the bridge. “There is no need for you to wear yourself to the point of exhaustion!”

“So, now what?” Lance asked, slumped back in his flight couch and arms crossed. “We’ve done four jumps, there’s no way that they’re still tracking us through that, especially since that second one was so…” he gestured his hand in the air for illustrative purposes.

“Haphazard?” Pidge suggested.

“Aren’t there like, navigation charts that are supposed to be consulted before she does that? What if she dumps us out into the center of a star or something?”

Keith sat forward in his seat, leaned slightly to the left. Shiro hadn’t gotten up from his seat yet either, and still had several of the holographic displays open in front of him. “So what _is_  the plan?” he asked, primarily directing the question at Shiro.

“I vote nachos,” Lance said, ticking off the options on his fingers. “Then, popcorn… and finally, movie night. In that order, or course.”

“I don’t know if I can make goo popcorn,” Hunk mused, doing a mental inventory of the Castleship’s larders.

“Please don’t use goo as a modifier for real food,” Matt said.

“Popgoo?” Hunk suggested.

“Okay, no, that’s _worse_ ,” Matt said, as Pidge cackled from her seat. “That’s much, much worse.” He had moved to Coran’s station when the elder Altean had escorted Allura off the bridge; and while he hadn’t actually touched any of the controls he was snooping all over them very thoroughly.

Keith got up and actually walked to Shiro’s seat, since his voice had been absent the entire conversation. He was staring intently at his screen, which was scrolling Altean characters _very_ quickly; and it had opened a condensed star map of the local systems in a separate window. “What’s wrong?” Keith asked.

Shiro glanced to him. “Nothing’s wrong,” he said, tapping his fingers against his arm in a certain pattern that Keith remembered all too well. Shiro’s most notable tell. One of these days he’d have to let Lance in on that particular tick, but … not today. Keith put his hand on Shiro’s shoulder and leaned forward, smiling thinly.

“You can’t fool me,” he said, his voice low, and Shiro sighed in a slightly melodramatic fashion, and then squinted at Keith suspiciously.

“The half-breed thing doesn’t lend itself to telepathy or anything, right? You’d tell me if you could read minds.”

Keith cocked an eyebrow at him instead of answering, and Shiro shifted in his seat, unfolding his arms and pointing to the star chart. “This system,” he said, and when his finger brushed the system in question it lit bright on Shiro’s screen, showing the size of it. Keith frowned at the display, the system was labeled “Darpen” and nothing else.

“What about it?” he said, as Shiro folded his arms again, a look of concentration on his face.

“It’s _familiar_ ,” he said, and the irritation was clear in his voice that he couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out _why._

“Hey,” Pidge said, from Shiro’s other side. They both glanced to her. “Lance has convinced Hunk to make space nachos. Unless you need us?”

Shiro shook his head. “We’re clear for now, and Matt-” Matt froze, halfway up the bridge, “has so generously offered to take bridge duty while Coran is assisting Allura.” Matt’s shoulders slumped comically, although he shuffled back toward Coran’s workstation without a word of complaint.

“I’ll bring you some nachos later,” Pidge said, with a wave to her brother before bouncing off. Shiro sighed and sat forward, dismissing the holographic displays but not rising from his seat immediately. He looked to Keith, and Keith returned his gaze, level and unaffected.

“I think I’m going to stay here for a little while longer,” Shiro said, and stood. He headed for the control station where Allura usually stood; which would allow him to use the larger star maps. “Figure out our next course of action.” He placed his right hand absently on the console, remembered what he was doing, and switched to his left hand.

“I’ll help,” Keith said, moving to stand at the edge of the holographic field as Shiro brought it up. Matt turned around, leaning back against Coran’s station, and watched them. Keith’s attention was on Shiro though, whose face had settled into a perplexed expression. “Unless you want to do this alone, although I really don’t know why you’d want to.”

Shiro gave a dismissive little shake of the head. “No, that’s fine,” he said. Another moment’s frustration and then he turned, looking down at Matt. “Does the Darpen system mean anything to you?” he asked, and Matt shook his head negatively.

“Never heard of it,” he said. He inclined his head toward the star-map, which highlighted both their present location and the system in question. “It’s only two systems over, right? Want to check it out?”

Shiro glanced over to Keith and Keith didn’t know what he was looking for, so he nodded his head. They weren’t being pursued - as far as they could tell, at least - and they were just going to drift until the new course of action had been plotted. Shiro nodded his head in response to Keith, then looked to Matt. “Yes,” he said. “Set a course for Darpen. Let’s see what we can see.”

Turned out, the Darpen system seemed like a whole lot of nothing. A dying star that hadn’t yet collapsed sat in the center of a system with few orbital bodies. “All scans report nothing of import,” Matt said. Keith had returned to his flight couch, looking at his own diagnostic displays. Shiro still had that unsettled look on his face, like he was waiting for a jump scare that would never arrive. “No habitable planets here.”

“No signs of life at all?” Keith said.

“No atmosphere detected on any of the rocks,” Matt said. He’d angled the Castleship to do a wide pass of the star, not wanting to get close enough to fight with the expanding gravity well. Something beeped, and Matt made an interesting noise. “I stand corrected.”

Keith sat up straighter, as Matt tossed some information up on the viewscreen. It was a planet … once. More than half the sphere was missing, and there was a planet-sized debris field spanning out from the remaining chunk. “What is _that?_ ” Keith said, as Matt threw more images up on the screen, one after another. At the farthest edges of the debris field there were _ships_. Not easily identifiable as Galra, though; they lacked the sleek lines and particular coloration that the flagships of the Galra Empire wore. No, these were junk ships, trader vessels, the remains of military ships whose rebellions were long since quashed. All scuttled in the graveyard of a planet. “What _is_  this place?” Keith said, his voice a little strangled.

“Incoming transmission,” Matt reported.

“Incoming-?” Shiro said, and then looked to the main screen, where Matt had already thrown the relevant information. “The ship scan didn’t pick up any live vessels, right?”

“Incoming vessel,” the voice was rough, and set the little hairs on the back of Keith’s neck aloft. “Identiy yourself or be destroyed.”

Shiro’s voice was firm and commanding, the voice of a leader. “This is Takashi Shirogane, a Paladin of Voltron. We mean you and your people no harm. Are you in need of assistance?”

There was a long pause and Keith kept his attention on the ship’s sensors, listening for the whistle of a target lock. He’d raised the particle barried the moment they had been hailed as a precaution, but he could deploy his drone to help deflect incoming fire away from the shielding system if it came to that. Then, the audio window displayed on the viewscreen slid apart, opening to a video screen displaying a squat gray alien with three eyes and a shaggy brown beard shot through with silver. The alien was leaned in too close to the camera, distorting it slightly, but clearly trying to peer down its length to the other side. “ _Shiro?_ ” the alien said, and Shiro’s expression was baffled.

“Yes?” he responded, his commanding voice slipping more back into his regular tone with confusion. “I mean, that’s me. I’m Shiro.”

Two heads popped behind the first alien; different aliens, Keith hoped, but sometimes it was hard to tell. There was a general background noise now, and one of the two additional heads said, slightly awed, _“he came back!”_

Shiro’s attention was wholly on the viewscreen, so Matt and Keith exchanged puzzled expressions. “I’m sorry, do you … know me?” Shiro said, his arms folded and brow furrowed.

“We weren’t expecting you to come back, we _must_  celebrate this momentous occasion,” the alien said, and there was joy in its voice. “And with _Voltron_ , nonetheless! Fantastic!” It leaned in even closer to the camera, obscuring the aliens behind it. “We have cleared an approach vector, avoid the Graveyard if you can.” With that, the transmission abruptly ended.

“We’re getting approach coordinates,” Matt said, staring down at the workstation. “It’s, uh…” he looked up at the viewscreen again. This time the image flickered, to beyond the debris field where one of the two oblong satellite moons sat in crooked orbit with the dead planet. Between the moon and the planet there were the familiar magenta-violet running lights of a Galra cruiser. “That.”

Keith was on his feet in an instant. “ _That_  is a Galra cruiser,” he said, as if that little fact had escaped the everyone else on the bridge.

“And it’s where the message definitely originated from.” Matt glanced to Shiro. “You got something you want to tell us, Shiro?”

Shiro shook his head, truly perplexed. “I have no idea what’s going on.”

 

#

 

“That,” Rian said, leaning against the wall behind the long, curved couch in the ready room, “is a fucking _stupid_  plan.”

“Okay,” Lance called. “Who taught him how to use fuck?” Pidge raised her hand and Matt smacked it, so she grudgingly lowered her hand.

“I agree with Rian,” Allura said, and Rian looked smug. “But I also do not see any alternative.” She was seated on the couch, at the far end and holding a tablet, frowning at the readout. “It’s not transmitting any Galra code?”

“None,” Matt said. “It’s not transmitting anything at all. No active energy signatures, no IF/F beacons, nothing. The only active comm blasts were our direct communication with it and the coordinates to safely navigate the Graveyard to the moon’s location.” He rubbed his arm with one hand, thinking out loud. “The engines don’t appear to be active at all, and if you look at the live shots only half the running lights are on. I think the ship’s dead in the water… so to speak.”

“Only running life support systems, then?” Illianya asked.

“Despite the threats to fire on us. That would be my guess.”

“And none of them seemed to be Galra,” Keith pointed out. “Outwardly, at least.”

“Remember that talk we had about traps?” Hunk said. “This feels, I don’t know, like a trap.”

“If we worry about every little thing being a trap we’ll just get paranoid,” Lance said. He leaned his elbow on the back of the couch and propped his head against his hand, raising his other arm. “I’m in, by the way. Not that anything good ever happens on a Galra ship.”

“You’re not in,” Keith said. “I’m going with Shiro, you can stay here with the ship.”

Storm clouds gathered on Lance’s face, and he sat forward. “Shiro,” he protested, and Shiro, standing at the open end of the long couch put his hands on his hips and sighed.

“I don’t like this plan any more than the rest of you,” he said. “But I don’t think Keith is enough on his own - that’s not a reflection on you, Keith, but I don’t know what it is we’re walking into.” Lance pumped his arm in victory and hissed a small yes through his teeth. “We’ll all go in one Lion, though. I don’t want to leave multiple Lions unattended.”

“Where do you want us then, Shiro?” Hunk asked.

“Ready to scramble,” Shiro said. He glanced at Lance and Keith. “Suit up. We’re going to see what this is all about.”

 

#

 

There might have been a small disagreement about whose Lion to take in the locker room that Shiro pointedly ignored because it was resolved with a game of rock-paper-scissors and he liked to pretend that his teammates had more mature ways to come to a decision. Keith won (“how are you so _good_  at that game? I had to teach it to you!”) and the Red Lion left the Castle of Lions in the usual fashion

It was unnerving flying up on a Galra cruiser that was half-operational, even more so than the one they had found previously scuttled. Shiro kept expecting all the lights to flare up as it powered on and grabbed them in a tractor beam with no way to get free; but instead the Red Lion flew alongside the ship until they located the open loading bay door and landed with little fanfare.

There was no atmosphere in the loading bay. When they stepped off the ramp from the Red Lion, Shiro glanced around the nearly empty hangar. “Lance,” he said, “stay with Red.”

“... _what?”_  Lance’s mouth fell open. “You brought me along to _babysit_  the _Lion?_ ”

Keith held his fist to his face as if he were using a cough to smother a smile, which was _real_  effective in a full helmet.

“If we need to make a quick escape, I would want my best set of eyes waiting to pick off any pursuit,” Shiro said.

Lance’s mouth closed and he straightened, chin tucked down and arms folded. He was clearly still upset, but that had slightly mollified him. “I’m running my playlist through Red’s speakers,” he announced, turning on the ball of his foot and marching right back up the loading ramp.

“Good luck with that,” Keith called after him, knowing full well that Red would spit Lance out as soon as they’d left the hangar.

There had been no one waiting in the hangar bay to greet them. There were still some Galra starfighters scattered about, but they looked different than the ones Shiro had grown familiar with. There weren’t nearly as many of the craft loaded up to launch, and several were lying on the hangar floor, cracked open and cannibalized for parts. Keith said nothing as they passed the wreckage, and it was a long walk to the end of the bay where they found the airlock and cycled through it.

Keith left his helmet on, although the bottom portion opened up once the suit diagnostics confirmed a breathable atmosphere in the ship. Shiro took his helmet off altogether, holding it in his left hand. “You okay?” Keith asked, and Shiro knew that was going to be a common theme on this mission.

 _Was_  he okay? That was a loaded question with a loaded answer, so instead Shiro simply nodded and they set off down the corridor. They had barely gotten to the T-junction when they both heard the clatter of many sets of feet and Shiro clenched his right hand, feeling the servos begin to heat. Keith had his bayard out, but untransformed.

Abruptly, eight or nine different aliens in a mixture of ragged clothing and Galran armor ran straight across their path, down the other hallway. Shiro and Keith held their positions for a moment, confused, before they moved quickly to the end of the hallway and looked down the path that the aliens had gone. The cluster had turned about and was heading right back for them so Shiro took a step back as the aliens slowed and finally stopped before them.

Not one of these aliens were taller than Shiro, or Keith for that matter. He recognized the species of two of them, one of the many-armed centipedal aliens and a shark-like alien who had fins that framed its ace. The rest were completely foreign to him, but that was all right because they clearly recognized _him._

 _“_ The _Champion_ ,” a spindly alien that looked like its skin was made from tree bark said, in a distinctly feminine voice.

Ah. Things were starting to make a little bit more sense.

Keith hadn’t put down his bayard yet, but that didn’t surprise Shiro. He held his hand out still holding the helmet, in a stand-down gesture, and after a moment Keith relaxed his posture and dropped his weapon to his side. “You know me?” Shiro said, and the aliens chorused an affirmative. “What is this place?”

“It is the Graveyard,” the first one who had spoken said, raising its hand. It wore the helm and helmet of the Galra armor, but underneath that were the achingly familiar rags that all prisoners of the Empire wore. They gestured. “Come, Jan is impatient to see you, so that the ceremony can begin!”

 

#

 

The moment that Lance sat down in the pilot’s chair all of Red’s screens went dark. “Oh, come _on_ ,” Lance complained. “I’m not trying to fly you, honest. Don’t go blind out of spite.” He held up the orange rectangle that was his phone, he’d discovered that it fit well in one of his Paladin armor’s compartments. “I just want to listen to some tunes, you’re a good kitty, you like music, right?”

The viewscreens didn’t even so much as flicker. Lance sighed and slumped in the chair. “You’re so _dramatic,_ ” he complained. “Keith isn’t this dramatic.” He stood up and shuffled behind the pilot’s seat. The viewscreens turned back on and Lance stuck his tongue out at them. As much as he wanted to just sit there and observe, it did him no good if Red was going to be a horse’s ass about it and shut off all the surveillance without notice or cause. Instead of exiting the Lion down the ramp, Lance popped the exit on the head and climbed out that way, seating himself comfortably on the head of the Red Lion and giving himself a nice view of the entire abandoned hangar bay.

There was very little to look at, and Lance got bored of this very quickly. He put his hands on his ankles and leaned forward, squinting at the far end of the hangar bay. The comm traffic from Shiro and Keith was minimal at best; Shiro had clearly taken his helmet off and Keith had switched his off, the fucker. So Lance couldn’t eavesdrop on what was going on, he would just have to wait here until someone opened an active line to alert him that trouble was headed his way.

It was nice that Keith seemed to be very much himself again, he had been surprised how much he missed it. Lance tilted his head and without thinking about it laid his hand on the side of his neck, over the now-faded bruise where Keith had bit him. He’d bit _hard_ , too, but the wound was all but healed, the flesh mended while he was in the cryo replenisher. Shiro’s claim mark had almost immediately scarred over, but Keith’s, the open wound, was nearly gone. _Omegas can’t claim a partner._

He rubbed his neck again and then put his hand down. Sitting up here perched on the head of a Lion reminded him a little of an ocean of stars, and why he was making _that_  connection he didn’t have any idea. “Wonder if I can connect with Blue,” Lance mused aloud, in part so that Red could hear him because without Keith to needle he could at least annoy his Lion by proxy. “I mean, she came running when I was in distress in the memory core, and we are like _super_  in tune.”

“Lance, are you talking to yourself?” Keith’s voice came through the communicator, and Lance jumped despite himself.

“No,” he said. “I’m talking to Red. It’s a very private conversation, I’ll have you know.” He stuck both his legs out straight and folded his arms. “We’re going to be best buddies by the time you get back here.”

“Yeah, right,” Keith sounded slightly stressed, but more amused than Lance expected. “We’re gonna need backup, do you have a lock on my position in the ship?”

Lance touched his forearm plate, and it brought up a display that, after a brief moment of questionable interference, scanned the ship and determined the location of the nearest sets of Paladin armor. It painted a pair of dots on a level not terribly far from Lance, although the display jumped a few times. “Trouble?” Lance asked, standing up and realizing that Red had closed the top hatch of the Lion behind him.

“Not exactly. You’ll understand when you get here, though.” There was a pause, and a clunk, and some chattering voices distant in the background of the feed. “Please hurry.”

 

#

 

The hallways of the Galra ship started out very normal, but the farther that Lance got from the hangar, the more that changed. At first it was small patches of green and pale blue on the dark obsidian walls; Lance assumed it was paint until deeper into the ship where the green and blue had organically spread and … _blossomed_ , in places; producing tiny violet and emerald-colored buds. Vines began appearing underfoot, which Lance only took notice of when he nearly wiped out. Keith had _said_  it wasn’t trouble, but Lance had his bayard out and in blaster form just to be on the safe side.

Finally, when the corridor started to look less like a military hallway and more like Alice’s most radical entrance to Wonderland, two small aliens clad in rather creative clothing ran up to him. One was carrying a staff nearly as tall as Lance, it had to be three times the alien’s height; and the other was simply waving its short, stubby arms. “Uh,” Lance said, drawing up short and pointing the muzzle of his blaster at the ceiling.

“Paladin!” the one waving its arms said; it kinda reminded Lance a little of the Arusians but it lacked horns on its head. “I require your aid!”

“Um,” Lance looked up and down the hallway, and then down at the map hovering just slightly over his arm. He wasn’t far from the others. “What sort of aid?”

It waves its arms again in what on Earth would be described as a ‘pick me up’ gesture. Lance held his bayard down by his thigh, the armor automatically stored the weapon digitally when he did that. Then, with no regard to cultural differences or diplomacy, he picked the tiny alien up.

Its eyes went wide and Lance had the momentary worry of, _oh shit what have I done_  when it wiggled out of his hands and somehow flipped itself, managing to climb onto Lance’s shoulders and set its hands atop the helmet on Lance’s head. “Grizalt!” the alien announced, and slapped Lance’s helmet twice.

“Hey, _what-_ ” Lance yelped, and the other alien pounded the butt of its weapon against the floor. “Grizalt!”

The alien who had hitched a ride on Lance promptly vaulted to the floor and took off down the hallway, chanting the same word rapidly. The second alien clumsily bowed to Lance and almost whacked him with their oversized stick, and then followed their companion down the hall.

“What the _hell?_ ” Lance said, completely baffled, as he turned a corner and found what used to be blast doors that were propped permanently open by a lavender-hued trunk. Lance sighed and proceeded to climb over the thick alien wood, and to his surprise that put him on a platform in a very large, open space.

It might have once been a training deck or a cafeteria, or even some kind of great hall where a lot of people were meant to gather together. However the high ceiling was completely obliterated. As Lance craned his head back, he could see that several floors above had been removed, all to make way for the growth of a large tree. It was a lighter color lavender than the trunk he’d just clambered over, and its branches had grown into the broken chunks of the old ceiling.

There was a carpet of planet life thick enough that the original floor was no longer visible; and aliens of all shapes and sizes flitted about. It looked like a gathering spot and as Lance scanned the levels he could see what must be living quarters constructed around the rims of the broken floors, the farther up it went there were ramshackle bridges and wires run across and between the levels.

“Lance!” Keith yelled, and Lance turned to see Keith one level higher than him, waving a hand over his head to catch Lance’s attention. Several of what must have been thick vines or even possibly roots ran up to the second level and Lance picked his way higher, finding Keith standing at the edge with his hands on his hips and looking faintly amused.

“What the fuck is this?” Lance said, awed.

“A bunch of prisoners took over a ship,” Keith said. “And prospered, apparently.” He glanced down, looking at the bottom level where there were quite a few aliens at work, clustered around near the base of the tree.

“Where’s Shiro?” Lance asked, and Keith tilted his head, clearly trying not to look as amused as he was. Lance looked back over in the direction that Keith was indicating with his head to see Shiro practically swarmed with tiny aliens identical to the ones he’d had an encounter with in the hall and looking utterly harassed.

Lance turned his head back quickly and smothered his laugh with his hand. “He’s popular,” Lance managed after a moment. Keith nodded his head sagely, and Shiro apparently spotted Lance, because he extracted one arm to wave it above his head like a drowning man.

“Lance, _help_ ,” Shiro called plaintively. Lance looked at Keith, who shrugged.

“Seems kinda cruel to leave him like that,” Lance said. “Keith, I’m _surprised_  at you.”

Keith cocked an eyebrow at Lance, missing the ironic sarcasm by a mile. Lance rolled his eyes and marched over to Shiro, which caused several of the small aliens to scatter and at least one to leap from a slightly higher elevation and land on Lance’s shoulders. “Yeah yeah,” Lance said. “Grizalt, I know.”

Abruptly, all the tiny aliens ceased swarming on Shiro, freezing in place. Lance stopped too. “Uh-oh,” he said just before the aliens all yelled “ _grizalt!”_  and swarmed him.

Shiro still looked harassed, but now he wasn’t covered in small aliens. Keith started laughing now, as Lance tried to claw his way upright. He pointed at Keith and tried _grizalt_  on him but it didn’t seem to work that way. “That’s what you get for repeating things kids say to you,” Keith said, and Lance wasn’t entirely sure if that was aimed at him or Shiro. Probably both.

Suddenly, there was a loud cracking noise and the small aliens scattered. Lance finally flailed himself into an upright, if seated, position. “Can someone tell me what just happened?” he asked, but then realized what looked like the boss or an elder or something was coming down a staircase made from plant matter stretched along the wall behind Shiro. Shiro stood up, and Keith offered his arm to Lance, helping pull him to his feet.

The squat alien shuffled slowly until he stopped in front of Shiro with a frown, holding a long piece of metal that must have come from one of the support struts. It had been worn smooth and there were berries and flowers tied in a cluster at one end. When they blinked, all three eyes blinked out of sync. “It _is_  you,” the alien said, and shook their staff. “Our Champion has returned to us, at last!”

They hadn’t noticed the hush that had fallen over the present aliens until their leader spoke, and when he shook his staff everyone cheered. Lance and Keith both looked out behind them, to see aliens of every size and shape clambering up to be on the same level that they were. There had to be at least two hundred of them.

“I’m sorry,” Shiro said stiffly. “I really don’t remember …. I’ve been here, before?”

The alien paused, and then pointed to themself. “You do not remember me, Jan?” Shiro shook his head in the negative, and the alien’s expression seemed to grow darker. “You do not remember leading us?”

Keith’s eyebrow raised as Shiro shook his head again, sharper this time. “I’m sorry, no I don’t. I…” he gestured helplessly, and then looked back at Keith and Lance. Then he touched the side of his head. “My memories are all mixed up,” he said. “I’m missing a lot of them. The Galra…”

When he spoke the word Galra, a hissing sound rose among the crowd, and Jan waved his staff again. “Say no more,” he said magnanimously. “You and your friends are quite welcome here. Come, come, we have much to discuss.”

 

#

 

Pidge wandered onto the bridge, eating a plate of crispy, semi-translucent chips that Hunk had fried up. She wasn’t entirely sure how he was making food translucent and her desire to know the exact chemicals that the alien ingredients contained was at war with her ability to sleep peacefully at night, so the best distraction for that was other projects. She’d been looking for Matt and finally found him sitting at the Green Lion’s workstation on the bridge.

“What are _you_  doing,” Pidge asked, holding a translucent chip between her brother’s gaze and the holographic display.

Matt blinked a few times, refocused on the item and took the chip, popping it into his mouth without even verifying that it was actually food going down his gullet. “Decrypting the information Keith sent back from the Red Lion,” he said. “The Galra ship’s not broadcasting credentials, of course, but it uploaded details when the Red Lion landed in its hangar bay. So I’m taking a look to see what we’re dealing with.”

“And?” Pidge asked, leaning over his shoulder and squinting at the display.

“I just got the IF/F and I’ve pinged it through the database of known Galra craft. It’s a prison ship that was decommissioned and scuttled.” He gestured at the display. “About five years ago, relatively speaking.”

“Weird that they scuttled it, instead of strip-mining the useful bits,” Pidge ate a handful of chips and crunched intentionally loud by Matt’s ear.

“They’re not desperate for resources,” Matt said, and pushed Pidge’s head away. “There really isn’t anything else useful in it, and when Keith radioed things seemed … all right. They’re not in danger, at least.”

“But,” Pidge prompted.

“But,” Matt said with a sigh. “Their leader knew Shiro.”

“Yeah, we heard,” Pidge said, as if the entire crew hadn’t been present for the briefing. She crunched for a moment more. “Wait. If the ship’s been there for five years, how does a presumably-shipwrecked crew of prisoners even know who Shiro is?”

Mattt nodded his head. “The time’s relative, though … worm-holing around could be messing with my calculations.”

“It’s still fishy,” Pidge said. She leaned forward and touched the call button on the console. “Hey, Allura? You might want to get up here, Matt’s found something you should see…”

 

#

 

Jan had an entire level to himself; the opening in the floor here was much smaller and only the very top bits of the canopy poked through. Along the edges of the hole in the floor, a fair bit of patchwork electronics were slaved into the main circuitry of the ship, and several of the consoles in the wall had been cleared of growth and were lit active, providing a dull magenta illumination or the room. “How are you keeping a tree alive in a spaceship?” Lance wondered, but his question was ignored by the alien.

“I admit, I am a bit disappointed that you don’t remember me,” the alien said, his voice gruff and distant. He stamped his staff against the floor in displeasure. “Damn those Galra beasts.”

“You said I helped you,” Shiro said slowly, looking around the room. It had clearly once been a high-ranking Galra soldier’s quarters, but aside from the inset consoles the remainder of the room’s fixtures had been completely cannibalized. “Helped you, how?”

“We escaped the prison ship together,” Jan said as he sat himself against a low table, holding his staff in both hands. “You helped a great deal of the prisoners get free, and instead of fleeing the ship into deep space and what was certain death, we took the ship for ourselves.” Jan looked quite pleased at this, but Shiro’s expression was mostly unreadable. Lance had slipped around the tree and was poking around the other side of the room, being nosy, but Keith stayed by Shiro’s side. “Sadly, the last act of some desperate engineers scuttled the ship’s system after our warp jump and destroyed the long-range communications array, leaving us to drift aimlessly until we were caught by the planet’s gravity well and pulled into orbit.”

“So you’ve been here, in orbit with this dead planet?” Keith said. “For how _long_ , that tree is massive!”

“That it is,” Jan said, sounding slightly proud. “It is a _kapili_  tree, and it provides us all the sustenance we require for such a small price.”

“And you say I helped with all this?” Shiro asked, quietly.

“Yes indeed,” Jan nodded firmly. “You took the last working shuttle on board, in the hopes of getting out of the system and finding us aid; and that you would return as quickly as you could!” He looked Shiro up and down, and there was something about the way he was looking at Shiro that left Keith feeling vaguely unsettled. Like he was a piece of meat. Jan smiled, but it was a thin, pained smile. “At last you have returned, but now … now I think it is better that we stay.”

“You’d rather stay on a dead ship?” Keith was incredulous to this idea. “Why? We can figure out how to get the warp drive running again, and get you out of the system in no time. Don’t you have families you wish to get back to?”

Keith’s thought was interrupted by the clatter of Lance stumbling over something in the background. Keith half-turned his head, irritated, while Lance hustled back over to them, looking as unsettled as Keith felt. “ _Lance._ ”

“It suits us here,” Jan said, unmoved by Keith’s words. “But,” he turned his attention back to Shiro, “it is _good_  to see that you survived, Shiro. It warms my heart so. Perhaps you and your friends shall stay with us for the final grizalt?”

Shiro’s stoic expression twitched, just slightly; he’d clearly had all of grizalt that he could stomach. “It would be our honor,” he said. “But, Keith is right. I doubt our ship is large enough to accommodate everyone here, but we might be able to get this ship running again, at least enough to get you out of system. Are you certain you want to stay?”

Lance touched Keith’s arm and he looked over to Lance, still slightly irritated. However, Lance’s face was unusually serious. He shook his head negatively, and Keith lifted an eyebrow. “Hey, Shiro,” Keith said idly. “If we’re going to stay for this thing, I’m going to head back to Red to shoot off a message to the ship, let the others know we might be a little longer than originally planned.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary at all,” Jan said, in a tone that was beginning to make Keith twitch. “Grizalt does not … take very long.”

The strange pause was not lost on Keith, but Lance waved his hand in the air. “Nah, it’s fine,” Lance said. “We just gotta update them, last thing you want is some very angry Lions coming to check on their missing Paladins, blowing holes through walls and whatnot.”

That put the elder alien at an impasse, and with a frown he nodded his head. “Agreed,” he said, shortly. “We will wait for your return to begin the ceremony.”

Keith started down the stairs made of plant matter, but Lance lingered in place, staring at Shiro with a strange expression until Keith grabbed Lance by his shoulder and yanked him after.

 

#

 

“All right,” Keith said, once they were in the halls headed back toward the hangar bay and away from the aliens that inhabited the converted Galra cruiser. “What has gotten into _you?_ ”

“We have to get Shiro off this ship,” Lance said, and stopped walking. It took Keith two strides to realize Lance wasn’t keeping up with him, and he whirled on his heel and backtracked. “Right now.” Lance had half-turned like he was contemplating going back right now but he stopped himself and folded his arms instead.

“What? Why?” Keith asked, and put his hand on Lance’s arm to draw his attention back to Keith. “Lance, what are you talking about?”

“Everything about this place is wrong,” Lance said. “Wrong with a capital W Wrong.”  He shivered. “We should ask that creepy alien what happened to the rest of the original crew, Keith. I bet he won’t have a good answer.”

“What is _that_  supposed to mean?” Keith said.

“A ship this size? Yeah, there are the drone soldiers for combat but,” Lance was thinking out loud and only half-paying attention to Keith. “What about the rest of the crew? The engineers, the personnel. Where did they go?”

“Lance,” Keith folded his own arms, aping Lance’s posture without thinking about it. “You’re reading too much into it. It’s weird, yeah, but these guys have been scraping out survival against the odds in a half-dead starship.”

“There were pelts, and bones stacked in piles on the other side of his room,” Lance said quietly. “With armor.”

Keith stared at Lance, and Lance shuddered again. “Am I seriously the only one getting like a Wicker man vibe from all this? You don't know Earth movies,” Lance continued that thought without stopping. “Have you _ever_  watched a scary movie in your life?”

Very drolly, Keith said, “my life is a scary movie.”

“...that’s fair,” Lance didn’t unfold his arms; if anything it seemed like he kept trying to curl in on himself tighter. “Let’s just get Shiro out of here before this grizalt-whatever is going to happen because and I _hate_  to be so cliche but my Bad Feeling About This has reached critical mass.”

Keith studied Lance’s face for a long moment, and then he nodded his head once. “All right,” he said. “I’ll trust your gut on this, Lance.” He started to open the comm channel but hesitated, and they both knew that Shiro was carrying his helmet and not wearing it. Keith and Lance exchanged a look and Keith said, “I’ll head back and think of some excuse to get Shiro out of there.”

“Yeah, and what am I supposed to do, stand around and look pretty?” Lance looked somewhat peeved. “It seemed weird that Jan didn’t want us to go back to Red, maybe you should check and make sure no one’s tried to fuck with her and _I’ll_  grab Shiro and we can book it.”

Keith scowled and opened his mouth to fight Lance on this, then paused. “Red wouldn’t let you near her without me,” he said, and Lance grumbled a “no shit,” to his complete lack of surprise. “All right. Keep your comm open, it’s bad enough we can’t communicate with Shiro, if I lose track of you I’m sending Red through the side of the ship looking for you two.”

“My _hero_ ,” Lance said, dripping in sarcasm but Keith put his hand on Lance’s shoulder and they looked at each other, then tilted their helmets together so they clunked together softly. “Yeah, okay,” Lance said softly, and then they parted; Lance’s bayard appearing in his hand as he set off down the corridor at a brisk pace without looking back.

Keith watched him go, and when he hit the T-junction Keith turned and headed for the hangar.

 

#

 

When Lance got back to the main part of the ship he found Shiro now on the lower level and patiently entertaining the same herd of small aliens who seemed to think yelling ‘grizalt’ and tackling people was a game. Lance wasn’t quite certain that they were actually _children_ , now, despite their diminutive size; but Shiro was playing with them nonetheless. He looked up when Lance approached and his expression seemed a little strange to Lance. “Where’s Keith?”

“With Red,” Lance said. He looked around for Jan, but while there were a plethora of milling aliens busily at work their leader was not obviously present. Lance kept his tone low anyway. “We need to leave, Shiro. Now.”

Shiro stared at him for a long moment, lips pursed. Then he shook his head. “That would be rude,” he said, flatly. “We’re not in any danger here, Lance. These are … my friends, I guess.”

“And I’m your mate,” Lance said. “Something’s not right, here.”

Shiro put his hand up, palm out, toward Lance. “That’s an order,” he said firmly. Lance’s shoulders stiffened and his bro furrowed, because Shiro’s voice carried with it a casual authority that prickled at his skin and he recognized the way the command sat with him; Shiro was the head and leader of Voltron, yes, but there was something _dismissive_  of Lance there in the mix as well. Instead of being compelled by the order, though, it just made Lance angry.

He didn’t have a moment to express that anger, though, as the small aliens clustered around Shiro scattered quickly when the ambient lighting in the air changed. “Grizalt!” one of them yelled as they abandoned Shiro and hurried toward the base of the large tree that framed the entire space. Shiro stood and gave Lance a Look which, hoo boy they were going to have a _Talk_  about later, and then followed the aliens.

Shiro stopped dead in his tracks, not far from where the floor dipped down, caved in under the weight of it all. There were thick lavender roots here, crawling up from the floor below, and many of the aliens used these roots to climb down beyond the lip of the collapsed floor. When Lance caught up to him, he saw exactly why Shiro had stopped in place, and without conscious thought Lance’s bayard manifested in his hands, already in rifle form. Shiro said quietly, “god _dammit._ ”

There was a makeshift altar between two of the largest roots, with all sorts of indentations cast into the metal surface that lead right back to the _kapili_  tree. Lance lifted his left arm slightly, the butt of his rifle cradled against his elbow. “Well, that looks a little too Temple of Doom for my tastes,” he said. “I suppose now’s not the best time to tell you that Jan had an extensive pelt-and-bone collection just, chilling in his room.”

The smaller aliens had all trickled through the crowd toward the front, already chanting the only word that they seemed to know. Two guards had entered at the far end of the room, dressed ridiculously in remnants of Galra armor that was far too big for them - however the weapons they had trained on the two prisoners between them were very real. The two prisoners were chained together, clad only in the traditional prisoner attire of the Galra Empire and wearing bags over their head. Lance’s attention went to them immediately, he flipped his blaster rifle up to his shoulder and used the scope to magnify his sight, but Shiro put his hand on Lance’s shoulder, causing him to drop position.

“To honor our friends,” Jan’s voice cut over the low chant of _grizalt_ , and Lance and Shiro both looked to the altar. Jan had appeared there in a change of clothes, now wearing a dark hooded cloak paired with his staff. He gestured the staff toward Shiro. “And to honor our Champion!”

The aliens cheered. Shiro took a step forward, to the very edge of the lip before the indented floor sank toward the roots of the tree. “Whatever this is,” Shiro called, “you don’t need to perform it, on our behalf.”

“The tree needs its nutrients!” one of the aliens shouted from the crowd, and several more took up the chant. “The tree, the tree-!”

“We honor you with the last of our sacrifices,” Jan said. “We have waited long for your return.” One of the two prisoners was jabbed forward, the chain between them longer than Lance had realized.

“Shiro?” Lance said, rifle on his shoulder.

“What’s going on?” Keith’s voice buzzed in his ear. Shiro still hadn’t put his helmet on, but it was in both hands, now.

“I’ll explain later, you might want to prep Red for a quick exit,” Lance said, as Jan gestured at the crowd, hyping them up with the hypnotic waving of his staff.

“Yeah, no shit,” Keith said. “We’re ready to go. What’s happening _there?_ ”

“Jan,” Shiro’s voice cut through the noise. “Stop this. This isn’t necessary. Let these people go, and we’ll talk-” as he was speaking Jan reached up and grabbed the hood on the first prisoner’s head, yanking it off. A mottled purple and black head was revealed, with familiar glowing golden eyes. A Galra prisoner. Shiro’s voice didn’t even hesitate. “ _Jan._ ”

“These are the last of our oppressors!” Jan called back, the Galra’s hood held bunched in one fist. Their head was mostly titled forward, they didn’t lift it - and Lance realized how gaunt the frames of the two prisoners were and how tired this one looked. Lance shifted slightly, his finger on the trigger and waiting on Shiro’s orders when the alien moved forward quickly, grabbing the Galra by the back of its head and in one motion, slit its neck.

Lance didn’t hesitate, he immediately sprayed a blast of plasma energy down toward Jan and the guards holding the second prisoner. He wasn’t shooting to kill, not yet, but it was enough to cause the crowd to lose its mind. Shiro didn’t say anything but leaped down into the pit, slamming his helmet on his head with his left hand, his right already glowing violet with kinetic energy.

The mass of aliens didn’t think to actually charge either Lance or Shiro - these were civilians, albeit greatly warped ones - and their first and only priority was to save their own skins. Lance didn’t even have to move, being naturally taller than most of the stampeding aliens - and he only shifted his position slightly as he laid down a pattern of cover fire for Shiro. He didn’t want to kill any of the aliens, not yet … he was more concerned with getting _out_ of here, but Shiro had other ideas, apparently.

Shiro wasn’t charging the altar, which surprised Lance. He instead went straight for the guards with the other prisoner, although there was only one guard left standing by now. Shiro ripped the chain off the prisoner and pulled the hood from his head and this Galra recoiled, clearly anticipating being killed as well. Shiro didn’t pay him any mind once he was freed and then finally turned toward the altar. Jan stood atop it, one clawed, grayish foot on the back of the dead Galra. He held out his knife, pointing it at Shiro. “I should have known,” he said. “You are not _our_  Champion.”

Shiro stood his ground, staring up at the alien who had called him a friend. “You said these two were the last of your sacrifices?”

“No Champion would free the enemy!” Jan’s voice had gone high-pitched as he screamed. “Kill them, kill them! The _kapili_ tree demands blood!”

“I’ve got a clean shot,” Lance said calmly.

“What are you waiting for?” Keith asked, but Lance stayed silent, his cross hairs on the alien and waiting for Shiro’s go-ahead.

“No,” Shiro said, and Lance wasn’t certain if he was the one being addressed, or Jan. “Not like this, Jan.”

The Galra, taller than Lance but not by much, scrambled weakly up over the lip of the floor near where Lance stood. It was easy to see him as the aliens all parted around him like water around oil. Some were beginning to accumulate crude weapons and, well, Lance was in no mood to get beaten to death by tiny cannibals. The Galra looked back at the altar and let out a choked noise; and then fell to his hands and knees, pressing his forehead to the floor. The aliens immediately advanced on him and Lance fired a few shots into the air, well above their heads. It was enough to scatter them and allow Lance to get close.

He wasn’t mistaking it from the distance, the Galra was skin and bone; his fur mottled dark blue and violet with a crest of hair? Fur? Whatever it was, it started above his brow and continued down his back, vanishing under the collar of the rags he wore like a mane. He didn’t lift his head when Lance stopped beside him, and his tail brushed the floor, unmoving.

Shiro followed the Galra up over the lip, and there was a splash of discolored dark matter washed over the front of his armor. Lance didn’t even bat an eye. “He’s too weak to walk, we can’t leave him here,” Lance said, and without a word Shiro crouched down and hoisted the Galra over his shoulders like he weighed nothing at all.

Lance would be more impressed by that display of strength if they weren’t surrounded on all sides by a growing hostile crowd. An alien from behind them screamed, higher-pitched than any human voice, and Shiro said matter of factly, “time to go.”

“Yup,” Lance said, and started firing into the crowd.

 

#

 

“This is a problem,” Lance said, as Shiro unslung the Galra from his shoulder. They’d made it to the airlock, but there was no atmosphere between the airlock and the Red Lion … and their new friend wasn’t exactly in a vacuum-friendly outfit.

“Go,” the Galra croaked, his voice nothing but air and gravel. “I will only hold you back. You have at least allowed me to meet my end honorably.”

“None of that now,” Lance chided, while Shiro frowned at the airlock, and then looked up and down the hall. Lance had blown one of the blast doors at the T-junction, which kept the pursuing aliens at bay for the time being, but who knew how long that would hold.

“What’s the hold up?” Keith said, and Shiro looked back to the airlock.

“We have a prisoner who doesn’t have a jump suit,” Lance said. “No way to get him to you.”

“He’ll be hitting up the cryo replenisher when we get back to the Castleship, right? Just slap a helmet on him, I’ll get Red right next to the airlock.” They both felt the ship shake as the Red Lion moved about the hangar bay, and Lance and Shiro exchanged glances.

“Why do I feel like this is a _terrible_  idea?” Shiro said.

“Do you have any better ones?” Lance asked, tucking his fingers under his helmet to pull it off. Shiro held out his hand and slid his own helmet off. “Shiro,” Lance said, concerned, as Shiro placed the helmet on the Galra’s head as carefully as he could, minding the large ears. “You sure?”

“You’ll be quick,” Shiro said, tapping the helmet and watching it seal around the Galra’s face. He smiled at Lance. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you before.”

Lance’s own helmet hadn’t sealed yet, which allowed him to give Shiro a brief kiss. They smiled at each other, then Keith was in Lance’s ear. “Okay, if you follow the path of air that gets expelled from the airlock’s cycle, you should make it straight to Red’s mouth.”

“C’mon,” Lance said, getting the Galra’s arm over his shoulder. “You got a name? We’re getting you out of here.”

“Verus,” the Galra said, voice muffled by the helmet. He wasn’t on comm, since the helmet wasn’t connected to Shiro’s Paladin armor currently.

“Okay, Verus,” Lance said as the airlock closed behind them. “This is gonna suck, a lot, but we’re gonna make it work. I need you to stay with me as long as you can.”

The airlock’s cycle was quick, and sure enough when the doors opened all the remaining atmosphere in the airlock whooshed into the vacuum. Lance was as ready as he could be and as soon as the doors opened he was half-sprinting, half-dragging the Galra prisoner with him. Red was _right there_ , just as Keith had said and Verus stiffened and tried to pull away but Lance had a good grip on him.

There was still gravity to contend with, and while Lance’s jet pack was enough to get him going easily both him and Verus changed his calculations a bit and they collided inside the Red Lion’s mouth, slamming into one side as Keith had the Lion close its jaws, sealing them in and restoring atmosphere.

Lance half-carried, half-dragged Verus into the cockpit proper. “Don’t freak,” he told Keith, who hadn’t turned around. Lance touched along the jaw of the now-unconscious Verus, found the seal of Shiro’s helmet, and removed it. That was the point where Keith glanced back at the, and did what would have been a hilarious double-take in other circumstances.

“That’s a…” he started to say.

“Yup.”

“Do I even-?”

“Nope.”

Keith shook his head. “Go get Shiro,” he said, “and we can get out of here.”

“Already on it,” Lance said, and the doors to Red’s cockpit closed behind him.

It was much easier getting down than it was getting up; but the entire hangar bay shook again. Lance stumbled as his boots hit the floor and then bounced right off; the artificial gravity had been disabled. _Shit_. “Lance, _go_ ,” Keith yelled in his ear and Lance was moving, the thrusters on his jet pack taking him right to the airlock and jumping inside it so it could cycle immediately. It was a quick cycle, the Galra were nothing if efficient, and Shiro was waiting right there for him, floating just outside the airlock and none the worse for wear. Lance tossed him his helmet, and the entire area shook _again_ , just as the power went out.

“ _Fuck,”_ Lance said, as the interior lights on their helmets lit up and made a dark corridor slightly lighter.

“Stand back,” Keith said. “I’ll use Red to get through the walls.” As he spoke, they both heard the chatter of the small aliens, but when Lance scanned down the hallway he didn’t see them, floating in the darkness. Okay, _that_  was unnerving as hell.

“Negative that, Keith,” Shiro said. “There are people on this side without jump suits. We’ll head toward the next airlock.”

“You do realize that you’re protecting the same people who are actively trying to kill us, right?” Lance said, his bayard in hand. Shiro gave him a Look, and Lance shrugged. “Just saying.”

The problem was, there was no next airlock. They were able to divert down another corridor, Shiro using his Galra hand to override what operating systems the ship had and close blast doors behind them, but that was taking them away from the hangar. “There’s got to be another way off this ship,” Lance said in frustration, one hand on the wall to keep from floating into it as Shiro shut another door behind him. “Why can’t we use your hand to cycle the airlock?”

“No point of contact within the airlock to keep it running,” Shiro said. “Although I could cycle _you_  through, somehow I don’t think you’d be too keen on that plan.”

“Damn straight,” Lance huffed. “I’m not leaving you alone here. _We’re_  not, right Keith?”

“Shiro, you okay?” Keith asked, and Lance looked at Shiro as they flew down the corridor. Maneuvering the thrusters on the jet packs wasn’t very difficult, but even then Lance could sense he was lagging a bit. “Your suit’s biometrics are reading low.”

“Just tired,” Shiro said, his voice clipped.

This part of the ship was completely dark, no emergency running lights at all and no additional power sources, so it was literally taking Shiro’s arm to power the blast doors open and closed again. No _wonder_  he sounded so tired, draining his prosthetic arm’s energy had to be sapping his own reserves, and Lance had a disquieting flashback to a different escape. “Where are we headed?” Lance said.

“The escape pods,” Shiro said. “We’re headed to the escape pods, Keith, do you copy that?”

“I copy,” Keith’s voice was thick with static. “What do you want me to do?”

“Stand by,” Shiro said. “When we eject, you’ll need to be on it right away.”

“That is, presuming there are any escape pods left,” Lance muttered.

"There won’t be,” Shiro said. “We’ll just use the airlock to eject ourselves into space. Keith will pick us up.”

“Great plan,” Lance said. “Excellent plan. We’re going to die.”

Though Shiro’s voice was still tired, there was a smile in it. “How many times has Keith done something similar, and he’s still with us.”

“That is _not_  a metric I want to be measured against,” Lance said. “Keith is like, a space-cat _ninja._ ”

He heard Keith make a funny, static-filled sound through the comm. “Yeah yeah, yak it up, Captain Fuzzypants.” Keith’s reply was too cut through with static to be distinguishable. Lance tapped the side of his helmet a few times. “Uh,” he said, as if Shiro wasn’t on the same comm channel. “What’s causing the interference?”

“If I had to guess,” Shiro said, “it would be the tree.”

“So how is Keith going to know where to find us?”

“We just have to trust him,” Shiro said, and continued on.

“Great,” Lance muttered quietly. “This just keeps getting better and better.”

 

#

 

There was nothing at all on the comm from Lance or Shiro.

Keith flew Red the breadth of the hangar, trying to pick up some scraps of audio, but nothing came through the system, not even static. Frustrated, he flew out the bay door and looped the Galra vessel - there were far less running lights on it now, primarily located in the main body of the ship where the tree was. He wasn’t exactly sure where the escape pods were on this particular ship, and when he pulled a ship schematic from the Red Lion’s memory banks it showed twelve different escape pod locations. Keith rubbed his face with one hand, and tried the sensors instead.

There was a weak cough from behind him, and Keith glanced over his shoulder to see that his newest passenger had rolled onto his back. This was a full-blooded Galra, though on the smaller end of the scale. He looked like he hadn’t eaten in weeks, emaciated as he was, and the dark blue fur that trailed from between his ears and down his back was lank and limp.

Lance had dragged a Galra onto his Lion, and Keith really didn’t know what the fuck he was supposed to do with _that_. But, that was for later, once he’d retrieved Lance and Shiro and they figured out what the heck to do next. This whole thing had gone belly-up on them, and Keith hovered his hand over the open comm switch to the Castleship. If he switched bands, he might miss Lance or Shiro’s transmission.

“... should have _died_ ,” the Galra behind him croaked, and based on that voice alone it sounded like he had.

“Well, you didn’t,” Keith said, all business. After a brief query he pulled up Red’s sensors and started scanning the ship. Maybe if they couldn’t _talk_ , he could at least find his friends that way. After a few frustrating minutes finally a pair of colored dots appeared on the map; black and blue. Keith let out a relieved noise and angled Red away from the ship, looping around to one of the dark sides and hanging out there, watching the dots as they slowly progressed toward what must be an escape pod bay. He glanced back over his shoulder at the Galra when he realized no other noise had come his way, and the Galra was lying motionless on his back. “You’re not dead yet, right?”

There was no response from his passenger, and Keith frowned, glancing back and forth from the display to his unconscious cargo. “Look, Lance and Shiro will _both_  be pissed if they stuck their necks out for you and you expired in my cockpit so can you at least hang on until we’ve gotten you into a replenisher?”

The Galra opened its eyes and breathed out a rattling breath. “You stink of half-breed,” he said, and Keith rolled his eyes.

“I am _sure_  glad we didn’t meet you a month ago,” he muttered, and turned his attention back to piloting.

 

#

 

They made it to an escape pod bay fortunately without any further complication. It was eerily dark as they floated along the corridor, one hand on the corridor wall to keep their bearings, the only light reflected from their Paladin armor. Shiro was flagging fast, having to use his arm as a sole power source for so long seemed to have drained nearly all of his energy, and Lance kept one hand on his shoulder, letting him lead but also there to keep him on the right path.

Once they had crossed over into the part of the ship that had been mostly destroyed by the initial uprising, they had found no more closed doors. They’d also found a couple of bodies - Lance was not ashamed of how quickly he had shot two before he realized that they weren’t under attack.

The escape pods were, as guessed, all jettisoned. Lance put one hand on the airlock that once led to an escape pod; now it just led into a dark, empty tunnel. “We’re really doing this, huh?” Lance asked, hoping that he’d get some response from Keith now that they’d traversed the ship and were hopefully out of range of the fucking _kapili_  tree, but no luck there.

“Unless you’ve made your peace with being eaten by aliens,” Shiro said, and Lance shuddered.

“Well,” he said after a moment, tapping the chin of his helmet thoughtfully as Shiro tried to figure out how to force the sealed airlock open. “Keith counts, right?”

“I walked right into that one,” Shiro muttered as his hand lit violet again, although the light was very dim compared to what Lance was used to. “We’re not talking about Keith eating your ass, okay? We’re just not.” He placed his hand on the control and then tilted back a little - without the gravity, he wasn’t going to hit the floor but Lance pushed off and caught him anyway, before he floated back too far.

“Man, Shiro, don’t do this,” Lance said, and took his hand, placing it on the controls and holding it there. “I know this is taking a lot out of you, but we’re almost there. You get us out of here and _I’ll_  eat your ass, promise.”

Shiro pushed forward as his arm lit brighter for a moment, and the airlock slid open. There was no burst of pressurized atmosphere venting, and Lance had a bad feeling that there was a closed bay door at the end of the long, dark tunnel - but he had a blaster rifle and they would burn that bridge when they got to it. “Gonna hold you to that,” Shiro muttered, but managed somehow not to pass out. Shiro hooked his arm over Lance’s shoulders and Lance navigated them into the long, dark tunnel that led to the launch point of the escape pod.

As he’d suspected, the tunnel ended in a heavy, shielded door. Lance propped one foot against the wall and Shiro the other wall, bracing him so that when he fired his weapon the rebound wouldn’t send them both halfway back the way they’d come. The plasma beams were dazzlingly bright, and it took three sprays of blaster fire before the door popped, and thank goodness when it breached it got sucked out into space first because Lance wagered that going through a hole the size of a few blaster shots wouldn’t be particularly fun.

The venting atmosphere sent Lance and Shiro tumbling out, spinning in different directions with no regard for where they were headed. Lance flailed, spinning head over heels as he tried to engage the thrusters on his jetpack to level off and get a lock on which direction Shiro went, all the while yelling into his comm at the same time. “ _KEITH!”_

There was a split-second of silence; just Lance and the uncaring vastness of space. He saw out of the corner of his eye the shape of a Lion and he turned quickly, tracking its movement. His first thought was _Blue;_  connecting to her and he remembered how she came to rescue him on Eaphus without him even realizing it; but the flash of a figure flying toward him, toward _them_  wasn’t Blue, and it wasn’t Red….

It was the Black Lion.

“Shiro!” Lance yelled through his comm and this time saw the distant teal of a jet pack engaged; he knew that had to be Shiro moving toward the Black Lion. Keith still hadn’t responded so Lance followed Shiro and a few seconds later the Red Lion looped the Galra cruiser and Keith’s voice exploded over Lance’s ears.

“What the _fuck_ ,” Keith bellowed, and Lance laughed, giddy with relief as he caught up to Shiro. Shiro reached out to him, gripped him tight by his forearm, and maneuvered them both into the open mouth of the imposing Black Lion.

 


	100. Chapter 100

Allura stood in the center of the med bay, her arms crossed and a stormy expression on her face, her back to the operating cryo replenisher. “As soon as it’s out of the pod, I want it off my ship.”

It was Shiro who stood in opposition to her, his arms folded as well and still in his Paladin armor. He was absolutely _exhausted_ , Keith could read it in his face as well as his posture. Lance had been all for shoving him into a cryo replenisher as well but Shiro flat-out turned them down. He didn’t want to go under unless he absolutely had to, and; well, Keith could relate. Besides, there wasn’t really anything _wrong_  with him that a good night’s rest couldn’t fix. Lance was unsatisfied with this, though, and stood just behind Shiro at his elbow and was watching him like a hawk.

“ _He_ ,” Shiro said pointedly, “was a prisoner. And he may have information that we can use. If nothing else, he might know why I was aboard that ship and be able to clear up some holes in my memory.”

“Prisoner or not, that,” Allura half-turned and jabbed her finger in the direction of the functioning pod, “is a _Galra._  Our _enemy._ ”

Keith resisted the sudden, massive urge to shift forms. “I’m Galra too,” he reminded Allura icily, and she turned back to him. Some of the tightness in her face lessened, at that. “You didn’t want to put _me_  out the airlock when you found out, either.”

“That is because I _know_  you, Keith,” Allura said. “And I know that the Red Lion would never have taken you as its Paladin if your heart lay with the enemy.”

“Somehow,” Pidge muttered, standing in front of the replenisher with her datapad, “I don’t think his heart’s going to be with the Empire after they abandoned him to die like that.”

“Be that as it may,” Allura’s voice was cold. “I don’t want him loose on my ship.”

“He isn’t loose,” Lance pointed out. “He’s in a pod.”

Allura’s eyebrows twitched, and then her ears - Keith had never actually seen her this angry, it was kind of impressive. “I. Don’t. Care.”

“Allura,” Shiro said, and the way he said her name even made Keith want to snap to attention. He _never_  addressed her as anything other than ‘Princess.’ Allura too was visibly startled for a quick moment, before her brows drew together once again. “This is your ship, yes. And Voltron is your father’s weapon. But we are a _team_ , and as a team we reached an agreement that we would not turn away anyone in need. No matter who they are, or where they came from.”

Allura tilted her head away, jaw clenched tight, before she let out a long sigh and dropped her shoulders. “I don’t know which is worse,” she complained, still glaring off toward a wall. “The fact that you’re _right_ , or the fact that you sound like my _father._ ”

At that, Lance and Pidge both let out identical choked noises. Shiro sighed the resigned sigh of someone who was going to hear about _that_  at a later time, in detail. “Fine,” Allura said after another  moment of letting that hang in the air. “But only until he is healed, and out of the replenisher.”

“When that happens, we’ll revisit this,” Shiro said calmly.

Allura gave him another long, measured look, and then stalked past him regally. Lance watched her leave the med bay in a huff and then looked at Keith and shrugged. Shiro still held his shoulders tight, almost as if he were afraid to relax his stance. Keith wondered if he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to stay upright if he did. “Hey, Pidge,” Lance said, and Pidge tilted her head to indicate that she was listening. “Any reason why you can’t run that mind-dump memory matrix thing that Coran was using on Sendak on our new furry friend?”

Shiro flinched slightly at the mention of Sendak’s name, but Lance had a good point. “That _would_  be a quick way to get the information we needed,” Keith said. “And then we can leave Verus on the next habitable planet without ever letting him out of the pod on the ship.”

“Oh, that’s cold, Keith,” Lance said. Keith shrugged.

“Allura isn’t _wrong_. He is an enemy. If we can pull his memories we can gauge his intentions, at least.”

“No go on that, I’m afraid,” Pidge said. “Remember when Alfor’s AI went sideways and almost put us into the heart of a neutron star about to collapse?” She wiggled her hand in the air at sideways. “It fried that part of the processor core. It’s non-essential ship functions and while Hunk and I are both getting real good at figuring out how to make the Altean tech go, even that is a bit beyond our scope at the moment.”

“So, we just have to wait, then,” Shiro said. “Any idea how long he’ll be under, Pidge?”

She shook her head again. “His vitals were _poor_. Like, I’m-not-sure-this-thing-is-still-alive poor. It could be a few days, but most likely it will be a few   _weeks._  There’s no way to tell how well he’s going to respond to the pod’s treatment, either. But I’ve set an alarm in our system for when the pod decides that he’s done so we can manually release him, it won’t bring him out from under before then.”

“Sounds good to me,” Lance said. He wormed his hand under Shiro’s folded arms and hook his arm through at the elbow. Shiro looked down at Lance’s arm with a puzzled expression, and then looked at Lance. “In the meantime,” Lance said, and patted Shiro’s arm with his free hand like he was an old grandmother. “I need to put this guy to bed before he passes out and we have to _drag_  him.”

Shiro smiled fondly at Lance. “You don’t have to turn into a mother hen,” he said, amused, but put up little resistance when Lance began to steer him toward the door.

“If you think this is me mother-hen-ing,” Lance said, “you better never get sick, mister.”

Shiro laughed at that, but even his laugh sounded worn down. He cast a glance to Keith before they left the room and Keith wanted to follow them, but he had something he needed to do, first.

“You all set in here, Pidge?” he asked, and Pidge tapped her datapad a few more times. The cryo replenisher beeped in reaction, and then the pod slowly retracted into the floor, its occupant slumbering safely within.

“Gotta say,” she said, “I don’t think the others are gonna be too happy about our new passenger either.” She sighed and then tapped the corner of her datapad against the palm of her other hand. “But Shiro’s right, too, and I _hate_  it. How can he be so forgiving, with what the Galra have _done_  to him?”

Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth she looked at Keith in alarm, then touched the datapad to her mouth as well, as if to stop other words from escaping.

“He isn’t,” Keith said, neglecting the implication of her words intentionally. Pidge was blunt, so was he. Keith touched his throat with the fingers of one hand, the ghost of a hand still on it, and then made a fist. “He’s just being practical.”

“And what about all the other aliens on that cruiser? We’re just going to leave them?”

It was the same question he’d put to the Black Lion as they flew back to the Castleship; Lance had answered the comm because Shiro needed all of his concentration to pilot. It was Lance’s answer that he had now, but something about it still didn’t set right with him despite what he knew now. “Some things are just beyond saving.”

Pidge looked as unhappy with that as he was, but she was the one who had looked up _kapili_  trees in the Castleship’s database. Apparently they were a carnivorous, symbiotic plant, and they thrived by infecting the local fauna with spores consumed from its fruit. The proteins in these spores attached to the neural stem of the host and … well, the aliens on board that ship weren’t so much people anymore than they were zombies. “Trust me on this one, Pidge. It’s bad.”

She nodded her head finally. “We’re going to stay put in system for a little while at least,” she said. “Since the star is dying, it’s throwing weird interference in the scanners, which is bad for us because we can’t get accurate out-of-system readings at the moment, but is also _good_  for us because it means that we can’t be easily found in the distortion.” She stretched her arms over her head and yawned big. “At least with Shiro being wiped out it means that you three can’t keep the rest of us awake,” Pidge muttered, loud enough that Keith could hear as she hit the door.

Keith flushed at that, slightly. “The rooms are soundproof!”

“Not really,” Pidge called back, and the door closed behind her.

 

#

 

Keith changed out of his Paladin armor in the ready room, putting it back where it was supposed to go instead of in a haphazard pile like Lance had left his and Shiro’s. He could very easily see Lance just leaning in the door and dumping their armor for Coran to clean up later. Slightly irritated, Keith put away their armor as well and engaged the clean cycles, because he was stalling on returning to Shiro’s room and he wasn’t entirely sure why.

After lingering around the ready room he took a shower, quietly paranoid about having been in contact with a giant host organism that turned people into mild zombies, and scrubbed his hair more thoroughly than he had in a while. The article had specified that the _kapili’s_  spores had to be ingested and it probably took more than an hour or two in its presence but there was no point in risking it.

Damp and hungry, he went in search of a snack and to his surprise found the galley empty. He could almost always find Hunk in the kitchen when he wasn’t tinkering on bits of the Castleship; and usually whenever Keith was in the mood for a snack Hunk would be there cheerfully working on something or the other. It was a little weird, but Keith fished around in the refrigeration unit until he came up with one of the protein drinks that Hunk had concocted for him and Shiro. They weren’t exactly the tastiest thing he’d ever had, but they had all the nutrients one needed and filled you up. Now curious about Hunk’s location, Keith wandered the halls with a straw in his protein drink and a towel around his neck.

Turned out that Hunk was in the last place he would ever think to check looking for Hunk, and that was the training deck. Traditionally, like Lance, Hunk avoided the training deck at all costs unless it was mandated team training; so Keith thought it quite unusual to find Hunk there. That is, until the doors actually opened and he walked in to find Hunk flat on his back on the boxing mat and Illianya straddling him.

Keith did an almost comical turn on his heel and immediately headed for the door. “SORRY,” he yelped. “I didn’t see anything!”

“Keith!” Hunk’s voice was slightly strangled. “ _Help!_ ” He gargled for a moment on that syllable, and then Illianya started _laughing_  and Keith cautiously peeked over his shoulder to see that she had slid off Hunk and was now lying on her side on the mat, arms around her stomach as she laughed. Hunk had sat up on his elbow, one hand rubbing his upper chest and looking offended.

“Uh,” Keith said, and turned fully around. “Am I … interrupting something?

“No,” Hunk said. “I bet wash duty for a month that she couldn’t keep me pinned.” He pointed an accusatory finger at Illianya. “Do you know how strong Alteans _are?_  They’re _stupid_  strong, that’s an unfair advantage, Illya, you have to disclose stuff like that _before_  wagers are made…”

“Can I help it that I like watching you do the washing? It’s so fascinating.” Illianya sat up on her knees and kissed Hunk’s cheek, and then tweaked his ear. “You humans and your weird ugly ears,” she said, as Hunk turned a brilliant cherry tomato red.

“I _am_  interrupting something,” Keith said.

“No, you’re not,” Hunk said and it came out so fast it was almost one word. “You’re definitely _not_  interrupting anything nothing at all has been interrupted.” He did not stand up.

“Uh,” Keith said, and a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Lance told him the exact reason _why_  Hunk wasn’t going to stand up and he wanted to strangle it, and possibly Lance as well for infecting him like this. “I was just looking for you to see if you’d try to go all-out on a meal for Shiro? I have a feeling that Shiro needs more than a single night’s sleep to get back up and running and you…” he shrugged, because often it was Coran who made their breakfasts and as a direct result they rarely ate breakfast … or maybe that was just Keith. “You make great food,” he finished lamely.

Now Hunk sat up on his knees and beamed at Keith, and then gestured excitedly. “Oh, _man_  that’s awesome,” he said. “I’ve been meaning to do a big breakfast spread for a while, before we hit Eaphus Coran brought back some _giant_  eggs that I froze after I made sure they weren’t, like, full of spiders or anything.”

‘Eggs full of spiders’ had not previously been on Keith’s rather exhaustive list of things to be worried about, but now it was highlighted, bolded, and underlined because apparently it was A Thing.

“Okay then,” Keith said, and waved his hand awkwardly, fully ignoring the sour look Illianya was giving him for putting a damper on their evening. “Thanks, Hunk. I owe you one.”

 

#

 

Lance was sitting on the floor in Shiro’s room, his back against the bed and Pidge’s stolen and long-since-given-up-for-gone headphones on his head. He had plugged the green headphones into his phone and he was squinting intently at the display when Keith returned to the room with a damp head and an empty drink container. Lance immediately put his finger against his lips, finished reading the line he was on and then darted a look up at Keith, who was smiling as he touched the spot on the wall that popped open to reveal laundry and dumped his damp towel down the chute.

Shiro was asleep on the bed behind Lance. He was out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, and Lance knew that Shiro could be a light sleeper if the situation called for it, so he had done everything possible to minimize noise with the exception of actually leaving him alone to sleep. He took the headphones off his head gingerly and glanced back to Shiro to make sure that Keith’s entrance hadn’t disturbed him. His face was angled away, toward the inset wall, but his steady, slow breathing hadn’t been interrupted. “Shhhh,” Lance hissed at Keith, finger to his lips again.

Keith dropped his drink container in the bin. “He won’t wake up, Lance.” Keith wasn’t at normal volume despite that, but he wasn’t exactly speaking in a hushed whisper, either. “Not when he’s this exhausted. It’d take an act of god - or, well, Matt jumping on his bed hard enough to shift the mattress - to get him out of bed right now.”

Lance frowned at Keith, and at that reminder that Keith, Matt and Shiro had a small shared history that he wasn’t privy to. “Where have you been?” he asked, as Keith sat himself down next to Lance on the floor, stretching his arms over his head and yawning.

“Looking for Hunk,” he said. “I wanted to special order a big breakfast, Shiro’s gonna be famished when he finally wakes up.” He was still smiling, a soft smile that once might have seemed out of place on Keith, but Lance had learned that it meant he felt comfortable sharing that emotion with him. Lance smiled in return and leaned into Keith, so that their shoulders pressed together; and Keith tilted his head so it leaned against Lance’s.

“Was he bonking his girlfriend?” Lance asked, amused.

“Kind of?” Keith sounded unsure, and Lance flailed upright and stared at him. “I mean, I guess Illianya was bonking _him_ if you want to get specific-”

Lance was trying to make a sound come out at a low volume and instead was making a sound not dissimilar to helium escaping from a balloon. Keith stared at him without comprehension before it clicked and he hissed, “they weren’t having _sex_ , Lance!”

The helium noise died down a bit, until Keith added, “I think.”

Keith had to bite his fist to stop from actually laughing out loud as Lance whapped him in the shoulder repeatedly. He laughed hard, and Lance whacked him a few times more until it became obvious he wasn’t going to stop Keith from giggling like an idiot so Lance crossed his arms, stuck his chin down against his chest and muttered, “dude, at least _we_  don’t have sex out where people could stumble upon us.”

"You sucked my dick in the hallway down by the Red Lion’s hangar. Allura caught us on _camera_.”

“Oh yeah,” Lance said, but didn’t sound ashamed. “I’d forgotten about that.” He wiggled his hips, lifting his butt off the ground suggestively. “I’m going to expect payment back on that with interest, you know.”

Keith tilted his head and regarded Lance for a moment, and then leaned into him again. “With interest?” he said softly, and his voice had pitched low enough that it sent a tingle down Lance’s back. He wet his lips, suddenly strangely nervous as Keith’s hand brushed his cheek, turning his face so that Keith could kiss him.

One of Lance’s hands made it to Keith’s plain tee shirt, gripping it and holding him close as they kept kissing, hungrily. Keith kept moving forward, leaning more and more into Lance’s space until suddenly Lance toppled over, having run out of room against the bed and falling backwards across the floor. He let out a little startled gasp and then covered his mouth guiltily, as Keith put his hand on Lance’s knee, laughing softly.

“Asshole,” Lance hissed, his face flushed from the heat that had crept up his neck. He shifted and tried to kick Keith, but Keith caught his flailing leg and then pulled off his shoe. Lance’s immediate reaction to that was to _squirm_  like his life depended on it, because shoe removal meant foot tickling and like hell Lance was going to go down without a _fight_. However, Keith did nothing of the sort, although he did remove Lance’s sock. “What are you _doing?_ ” Lance was as quiet as he could be, and straining to make certain that Shiro’s breathing hadn’t changed tempo.

“Paying you back,” Keith said, as he caught Lance’s other foot and removed that shoe and sock as well. “With _interest_.”

Lance gaped at him as he leaned forward, catching the waist of Lance’s jeans with his fingers. He almost managed to get Lance’s pants down his hips before Lance caught his wrists with both hands and stared at him in horror. “Shiro is sleeping _right there_ ,” he hissed, and Keith smirked at him.

“Guess you’d better be quiet then,” he said, and shrugged off Lance’s hands.

 

#

 

Lance clamped both of his hands over his mouth to keep the sounds in, his eyes screwed tightly shut and his shirt rucked up his belly, Keith’s hand resting warm on his naked skin. His other hand was wrapped tight around the base of Lance’s cock, and the rest of it was in the wet furnace that was Keith’s mouth. And god, it felt so _good,_  Lance’s eyes would be rolling back if he hadn’t closed them tight.

Keith was paying close attention to every aspect of what he was doing, tongue and fingers nimble. His free hand brushed over Lance’s stomach, adjusting his leg over Keith’s shoulder before drifting down lower to gain a better grip on Lance and pull him closer. Keith never once lifted his head or diverged from his mission, although his eyes were angled up, watching Lance as best he could as he took Lance to pieces with his mouth.

He paid close attention to Lance’s cock but that drifting hand skirted lower, and even with his hands clasped over his mouth a noise escaped when one of Keith’s fingers pressed inside him.

Keith lifted his head, Lance’s cock falling from his mouth with a slick pop. He was laughing again, damn him, and Lance opened his eyes to squint angrily at Keith. “That’s not _fair_ ,” he mouthed, because he didn’t trust his voice to cooperate with him and maintain a soft tone.

“I said, ‘with interest,’” Keith murmured, and turned his head to kiss the soft skin on the inside of Lance’s thigh. That sent a shiver up Lance’s spine and this time the noise _did_  escape, a soft moan on the edge of a sigh. “If I get you sloppy enough we won’t need any lube.”

Lance flushed red to the tips of his ears and he squirmed as Keith kept a tight hold on him, not letting him get away. “If we’re gonna do _that_ ,” he said, “we need to go to your room, or my room, or something becAUSE-” Lance’s voice rose as Keith pushed two fingers into him this time, his eyes fixated on Lance’s face. Lance clapped his hand over his mouth and his eyes darted to the overhang of sheets, the only bit of the bed he could actually see now with his back on the floor.

“He won’t wake,” Keith assured him, and pressed his fingers deeper into Lance. Lance made _another_  sound, this one entirely muffled, and he might have been swearing at Keith but Keith wasn’t going to lift Lance’s hand to find out. He might get bit, after all.

 

#

 

Lance pressed his forehead against the edge of the mattress, fingers digging into the sheets that were drooping over the edge and biting his lip hard enough that he had drawn blood. He wouldn’t lift his head to look up at Shiro’s sleeping form, sprawled on his stomach but facing the wall with one arm vanished under his pillow; he felt guilty enough as it _was_ , looking at Shiro only made things worse. Then Keith’s hands settled on his hips again and Lance groaned before he could stop himself, because Keith was _inside_  him now and the pressure and the friction were _delicious._

Keith’s hand covered Lance’s where it remained on the very edge of the bed, and he kissed along the collar of Lance’s shirt, his mouth settling over Shiro’s claim mark. Lance wasn’t going to be able to keep it together if Keith kept that up, his body moving firmly against Lance’s; and before Lance could let a choked noise escape Keith’s hand covered his mouth, his fingers shoving in for Lance to suck on. That gave him something else to focus on as Keith pushed him over and through a climax he had been holding off on for far, far too long.

They laid on the floor together for a little while after, Keith slightly atop Lance, his hand scratching through the short hair on the back of Lance’s neck. Lance had his cheek on his arm, his eyes closed but not asleep and so relaxed he felt boneless. “Yeah, okay,” he said finally, unsure of where the voice was actually coming from because it didn’t sound like his at all, too hoarse. “I think that settles _that_  particular debt.”

Keith laughed again, his voice a low, contented rumble that settled in Lance’s chest in a good way. Lance rolled his head so that he could look at Keith, and he was so happy and content it felt like he was going to burst. Keith’s fingers rubbed over the scar on the back of Lance’s neck, he’d bit over the claim mark when he had climaxed; both hands on Lance’s hips as he emptied himself inside. The skin felt raw now, but Lance didn’t jerk his head away. “My mark is gone,” Keith murmured, a little sad.

“Yeah,” Lance sighed. “I’m pretty sure the cryo replenisher took it out.” Keith’s rubbing fingers hesitated, and Lance let out a small laugh. “Stop worrying about it, Keith.”

“You said you were scared of me,” Keith’s fingers resumed their scratching, and Lance leaned into Keith’s hand, his eyes going closed. “Are you still?”

“Well, scared isn’t really the right word,” Lance said. “Maybe intimidated?” Keith made a curious sound at that and Lance opened one eye, then sighed dramatically. “Fine,” he said. “I’m only gonna say this once, and if you _ever_ tell anyone I said it I’ll deny it to my dying day.” The expression on Keith’s face was perplexed, and slightly apprehensive, and now Lance couldn’t _not_  tell him. “You’re freaking amazing, and strong, and you’ve been through so much shit and yeah you’re weird as hell but you’re incredible, man. I love you so much.” Lance buried his face in his arm, face blazing hot because the words had come out so fast that he couldn’t have stopped them if he wanted to. “I’m more scared I’m gonna lose you,” he mumbled into his hand, but then Keith’s hand slid up his scalp and pulled him up so that Keith could kiss him, his mouth desperate and face wet.

“Dude,” Lance gasped against his mouth and brought his free hand up to push his palm over Keith’s cheek. “Man, Keith, don’t _cry_ , I don’t know what to do if _you_  cry, I’m not equipped to handle that-!”

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance as Lance rolled over, burying his face against Lance’s and laughing as they kissed again, tears still tracking their way down Keith’s cheeks.

 

#

 

When Shiro woke, his mouth was dry and his eyes were gummy. He shifted slightly in bed and rolled over, to find Keith stretched out under the covers at the far edge of the bed. Keith wasn’t asleep; or if he had been Shiro’s movement had woken him before it woke Shiro himself. Shiro pressed the palm of his left hand against his eyes and swallowed. “How long was I out?” he asked, and his voice sounded like he’d gargled with gravel. He made a face and Keith laughed a little, and the sound was like home, to Shiro.

“Twenty-seven hours,” Keith said lazily, and Shiro shot straight up in the bed so fast it made him dizzy.

“ _What!?”_

Keith pushed himself up on his hands and knees and caught Shiro’s shoulder as he tilted worryingly to one side, his hand on his forehead. “How could you let me _sleep_  that long, I need to-” when he tried to move he was a little too woozy for that so he settled back into sitting upright. “ _Keith._ ”

“As Lance was saying, your battery was at 1%,” Keith said, and squeezed Shiro’s shoulder. “You _needed_  it, Shiro. You wouldn’t let us stick you in the pod for a few hours, but your body takes care of itself.”

Shiro looked at him, and while Keith was sleep-tousled he didn’t look half as bedraggled as Shiro felt. He shrugged out from under Keith’s hand and instead slid his arm over Keith’s shoulders, pulling him in for a hug. Keith relaxed against him as Shiro buried his nose in the fluff of Keith’s hair. Keith’s scent was so thick and intoxicating, and he knew now what the strange tinge to it mean; he could smell the Galra on him even if he couldn’t see it and that fact didn’t make a hard knot form in his throat any longer. “Shiro?” Keith asked, his voice a little muffled against him, and Shiro loosened his grip on Keith, allowing him to lean back. “We need to talk.”

Were there any four such terribly loaded words? They froze in Shiro’s lungs and he actually, literally, stopped breathing for a few seconds. Keith’s eyes went wide at the expression he must be wearing and Keith sat up on his knees, both his hands on Shiro’s shoulder’s now. “No, no,” Keith said. “Not like that, Shiro, _god_  no.”

“Then don’t say it like _that!_ ” Shiro said, sounding harsher than meant to but the tone just rolled off Keith and he didn’t bristle like Shiro was expecting him to.

“I’m sorry,” Keith said, and he meant it. “I didn’t mean to scare you like that, really I didn’t. I just meant….” now his tone dropped off, worryingly so. Keith sat back on his knees now, his butt on his heels and then, finally, he spoke. “Why did you save that Galra?”

Shiro’s brow furrowed. He didn’t quite understand the question. “He was being held unjustly,” he said. “If we left him, he would have been killed.”

“But he’s Galra,” Keith said, and his next words sat in Shiro’s gut like lead weight. “You _hate_  the Galra.”

He could remember the tone, the rage, the absolute blind hatred - and the feeling of Keith’s neck under his hand, his yellow eyes wide and ears back and waiting for his fingers to close. Shiro rubbed his face with both hands, inhaled deeply and then looked at Keith. Keith was watching him silently, tousled black hair and no judgment in his violet eyes. Then he closed his eyes, and right there in Shiro’s bed, he changed.

When Keith opened his eyes again, it was a glimmer of gold between his lashes. He looked at Shiro with the same calm, open expression but now it came from a Galra face; his enemy. But it was also Keith’s face … and Shiro reached out his hand touched Keith’s face, sliding his palm across Keith’s cheek until he cradled Keith’s face in his hand, his thumb sliding across the soft fur.

“I can’t forgive them for what they did to me,” Shiro said, his voice soft. “And I can’t forgive them for what they did to _you_. But…” Keith’s eyes were riveting and intoxicating like this, a soft golden glow that spilled over his cheeks like the warmth of the sun. “Individuals are no the Empire,” he said finally. Keith closed his eyes and turned his face into Shiro’s hand, and Shiro slid his hand again, catching under Keith’s chin and turning his face up so that he could properly kiss him.

Had he yet kissed Keith like this, in his true form? He wasn’t certain, but Keith was hesitant so Shiro refused to be, both of his hands sliding to cup Keith’s face, to keep him there and continue to kiss him until he’d had enough. “I acted like an ass,” Shiro said when they parted finally, panting. Keith’s ears twitched and he frowned, and Shiro kept his hands on Keith’s face so that he couldn’t turn away. “In the memory core.”

“I should have told you a long time ago,” Keith said, and Shiro brushed his thumbs over Keith’s cheeks.

“None of that,” he said. “Let me apologize.”

“Don’t,” Keith said, and put his hands on Shiro’s wrists. He pulled Shiro’s hands from his face and looked at their hands for a moment, before sliding his hands down from Shiro’s wrists into his hands, so that their fingers could curl together. “I hate this part of myself,” he said. “I don’t think I ever won’t, so believe me, I _understand_. But I love you, and I just want to put this all behind us.”

Shiro brought Keith’s hands up to his face and kissed his knuckles, and Keith let out a small laugh, pulling one hand free. “Dork,” he said, and pushed Shiro’s shoulder. Shiro flopped back dramatically in the bed and yanked Keith with him, and Keith yelped in surprise as they went over.

“That’s me,” Shiro said as he kissed Keith again. “The dorkiest dork who ever lived.” Keith smacked his shoulder, his features melting back to human, but he kept kissing Shiro without complaint.

 

#

 

When Lance returned to the room, he was wearing a wet pair of swim trunks and a pleased expression. “Did you know that Alteans don’t do bikinis?” he said as the door opened. “They just do like, swim trunks and don’t - oh for god’s sake.” He put both his hands on his hips, realized that the door was wide open and that anyone passing would be able to see in the room and then quickly stepped inside, shutting the door behind him and locking it.

Keith leaned back, arching his spine and pulling his shoulders back at the same time as he was riding Shiro slowly on the bed. “Shut up, Lance,” Keith panted, his hands braced on Shiro’s thighs.

“No, I’m not shutting up,” Lance said crossly, kicking his wet trunks across the floor and climbing into the bed with Keith. Shiro laughed breathlessly and leaned up into Lance’s kiss, moving his hand from Keith’s knee to Lance’s head.

“Did you get a show?” Shiro asked in amusement.

“Well, not quite as good as this one,” Lance sat on his knees and wet his lips. “But Illianya’s got a nice rack. I think Hunk drowned.” He tapped his fingers on his knee, watching the rise and fall of Keith’s hips, his eyes drawn to Keith’s dripping erection. “Matt didn’t seem to have any reaction, though, he must have seen them before.”

“Or he’s gay,” Keith said, the edge of a gasp in his voice.

“Matt’s not gay, and he’s into Allura,” Shiro said, and then pushed his hips up, making Keith shudder.

“Fuck,” Keith said, tilting his head back. “Fucking, _knot_  me, Shiro….”

Lance smacked Shiro’s shoulder and he groaned, Lance looked appalled. “He is _not_  into Allura,” he said, and Shiro said through gritted teeth, “a little _occupied_  here, Lance…”

Lance climbed over Shiro’s legs, slotting himself behind Keith and feeling Keith go rigid at the press of Lance’s body against his back. “Lance,” Keith whined as Lance tucked his chin over Keith’s shoulder and looked down his chest. Lance stuck his tongue out between his lips at Shiro, and Shiro groaned again when Lance flattened his hands on Keith’s stomach.

“Lance, don’t be a dick,” Shiro said, rolling his hips and making Keith whine again.

“Yeah, yeah,” Lance kissed Keith’s shoulder as he took Keith’s cock in his hand, stroking him firmly. He grinned against Keith’s neck, nuzzling Shiro’s claim mark there and feeling Keith shudder. “I bet you can’t come hard enough to get it on Shiro’s face,” he murmured almost directly into Keith’s ear.

“ _Lance,”_ this time his name was a gasp on Keith’s lips, his free hand flailing back blindly until it smacked against the side of Lance’s head, fingers curling immediately to lock into his damp brown hair. Lance bit Keith’s shoulder lightly, stroking him firmly in time with the rolling thrusts from Shiro below them, as between the two of them they worked Keith into a shivering, dripping mess.

 

#

 

“So, what are we looking at?” Shiro asked, hands on his hips and standing at the fringe of the holographic field, head tilted up. A star map encompassed the entire hologram, and about half the visible systems were color-coded.

“Okay, so,” Pidge said, fingers flying over her keyboard. “This is a map of the Galra Empire that existed when Allura went into cryo-sleep ten thousand years ago.” She gestured at the portion of the star system that seemed to be encased in a violet misty nebula.

“That’s a _lot_  of systems,” Lance said, leaned back against the railing, his arms crossed. “What do the other colors represent?”

“Pockets of resistance,” Allura said. She pointed to a much smaller pink cloud that seemed disparate, with violet all around it. “What remained of the Altean colonies,” she said, sadness tinging her voice. “Zarkon targeted those personally, after Altea was destroyed.”

“Well, that looks promising,” Hunk said, jabbing his finger at some of yellow and orange clouds, a decent distance from the violet one.

“Hold on to your butts,” Matt said, and Hunk groaned very loudly because that sounded like the opposite of promising.

Abruptly, the star field shrank as the violet miasma blossomed in size, overtaking all the visible quadrants and obliterating the other colors. “And this,” Pidge said grimly, “this is an updated map of the Galra Empire that I cribbed from the data downloaded from the Galra prison ship.”

“We’re boned,” Hunk said, his voice small.

“Hardly,” Illianya said. She pointed to small splashes of color that were almost completely obscured by the violet cloud demarcating the Empire’s territory. “These are pockets of resistance that we’ve identified as we’ve been hopping around the galaxy following the prison ships.”

“What are the purple lines?” Keith asked.

“Prison ships, and their known courses,” Pidge said. She pointed. “The star systems coded in yellow have research facilities, according to this data.” Keith’s frown grew more pronounced. “Blue are production facilities. Green are centers of commerce.”

“What’s silver?” Rian asked.

“Planets that have been destroyed,” Coran said.

There was a heavy silence at the amount of silver glittering throughout the map.

“The Galra Empire has had ten thousand years to spread like a cancer,” Allura said. “We are going to put an end to it, once and for all.” She pointed to a dark burst of violet, almost red. “This is where Zarkon is,” she said. “The heart of the Empire.”

“We’re not strong enough to take that on yet,” Shiro said. “We need to start with something smaller, like disrupting their trade lanes.”

“And destroying some shipyards,” Keith said. Shiro nodded his head.

Lance pointed to a pocket of blue near one corner of the map. “What’s that?” he said. “Allies?”

“Potential allies,” Pidge said. “It’s a system cluster that has been holding out against the Galra for a few decades, at least. There are recent reports about sending additional ships, and…” she grew quiet for a moment. “I think these are referring to what Hunk called ‘robeasts.’”

Lance stood up straight, arms folded. “If they’re still actively resisting, that means they have ships and resources, right?” He looked at Allura. “If we want to get this coalition off the ground, we should start by helping that system. We can barely defeat the robeasts as Voltron, they don’t stand a chance.”

Allura nodded her head in agreement with Lance’s assessment. “Shiro?” she said.

Shiro was silent for a little while, studying the map. Then he nodded his agreement. “I like Lance’s idea,” he said. “We should head that way and offer assistance. Princess, do you think we can wormhole there?”

“I wouldn’t go all in,” Matt said, and Shiro glanced at him. “We should do some intelligence gathering first, if they discovered that Pidge compromised the ship’s system and has this data-”

“Which they definitely did, because I left them a laughing virus,” Pidge said, and Matt high-fived her.

“Who knows how their troop movements have changed,” Shiro finished before Matt could.

“It’s just as well,” Coran said. “After those quick jumps the teludav is in poor order. We’ll just have to travel at warp instead, until we can get it serviced.”

“That would give us plenty of time to send some probes out and gauge the situation,” Illianya said.

“If the teludav is damaged, repairing that should be a priority as well,” Allura said with a frown.

“Not to worry, Princess,” Coran said. “I know _just_ where to find some new lenses!”

Allura nodded her head. “That gives us about two weeks before we arrive in the,” she paused to look at the map, and Pidge said in a stage whisper, “ _Cartann.”_

“Right,” Allura said. “The Cartann system.” She folded her arms and grinned sweetly at the rest of them. “We’ll be running drills and working on our teamwork until then, I don’t want another fiasco like Eaphus.”

Lance and Hunk audibly groaned, and Shiro somehow managed not to smile, although a smile was tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I agree, Princess.” He looked over them. “Team, suit up. We’re going to put those simulators in the Lions to good use.”

 

#

 

Lance let out a long, dragged-out moan as he stood under the hot, stuttering spray of the shower. Every single part of him ached, after Shiro had them running simulation drills they ran _real_  drills in the training deck and Lance really couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this tired. He heard Keith chuckle from the stall beside him, and shot Keith a dirty look over the divider.

“Can’t keep up?” Keith said sweetly, his arms folded over the thin piece that kept the shower stalls separate and his chin resting atop his arms, watching Lance with a smirk.

“I can keep up with your ass, flyboy,” Lance retorted, scrubbing his hair roughly under the shower. “I can shoot your sword out of your hand without even singeing your glove, just try me.”

“Dude can you two like, not flirt in front of me?” Hunk said from Lance’s other side. He shut off his shower and wrapped a towel around himself.

“Lock your door,” Lance called in a sing-song voice after Hunk. Hunk flipped Lance off without looking at either of them, and Lance laughed, ducking his head under the spray again. The water felt cool against his skin and he suddenly shivered, feeling a tingle at the thought and recognizing, suddenly, the ache he’d been ignoring all day. _Oh._

“Well, _that’s_  a face,” Keith commented, and Lance winged his washcloth at Keith, nailing him right between the eyes. Keith yelped as the terrycloth dropped to the tile floor, and he scrubbed the suds out of his eyes. “What was _that_  for!?”

“Shouldn’t you be cleaning up?” Lance said, and Keith glared at him. “I mean, I know I’m hot as hell and you can’t resist my fine brown ass but you’re just wasting water.”

Keith snorted, and slowly looked Lance up and down. “Your heat started,” he said, and Lance flushed red, ducking his head under the water.

“No shit,” he hissed at Keith. “With your fucky cycles it’s completely thrown me off mine! And I’m just about out of suppressants now too. That’s going to be _fun_.” He groaned.

“You’re claimed, though,” Keith drew patterns in the condensation on the divider between them. “I thought that helped.”

“ _Some_ ,” Lance muttered. “The suppressants help with the physical stuff, too. That way I’m not, like, leaking constantly and just about ready to climb on any dick I see.”

“Well you can climb on my dick as much as you want.”

“Gee thanks Keith, I can hardly even tell you’re my boyfriend.” He rolled his eyes and Keith stuck out his tongue at Lance and they stared at each other for a moment, startled, before they both started laughing. Lance scrubbed his face under the water and turned toward Keith, who had shifted slightly and propped his chin in his hand. Lance wrapped his arms around himself self-consciously. “I wonder if Shiro could tell that my heat started early,” he said. “Especially during training. God, I bet Pidge was smelling me. Hunk is so lucky being a beta, he doesn’t have to deal with this shit.”

“I’m _sure_  Shiro knows,” Keith said, with an absolute deadpan certainty in his voice that made Lance give him a strange look. “Right?”

Lance blinked and then almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a heavy, familiar hand settle on his hip. “Right,” Shiro murmured, burying his nose against the side of Lance’s neck. The sudden tension ran out of Lance like water down the drain and he leaned back into Shiro’s warm, welcoming embrace. Lance didn’t even have to look to check that he was naked, he could feel Shiro’s length pressed against his back, and he sighed as he felt it stiffen further.

“I thought we talked about the sex in the showers thing,” Lance said, as Shiro kissed his shoulder.

“Yeah,” Keith said. “I wasn’t listening.”

“Me either,” Shiro said.

Lance groaned as Shiro’s hand slid between his legs, and then he laughed despite himself. “You two are _hopeless_ ,” he said, as Keith joined them under the steady spray of the shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it then! Thank you for all the lovely and wonderful comments over the past, uh, criminey, two years? One year eight months? This thing got a little out of hand very quickly and it all started with a request for me to write omegaverse and I'd never done that before.
> 
> (What about all the dangling plot threads, Catie???)
> 
> There is more fic coming from this universe, no worries there. _Plenty_ more. Consider this ... the first season.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
